Rise of the Heroes Part Two: Guardians
by Wredan
Summary: Finally, part two is complete and here. This is a continuation of Rise of the Heroes Part One: Sentinals, and picks up right where that story left off. And yes, the Teen Titans are in this one, along with some other recognizable characters. Part three will be up eventually.


_**Rise of the Heroes**_

_**Part Two: Guardians**_

_Chapter One: Answers_

"_Jolene!?" _Mirage cried, so shocked at the sight of her sister that she nearly crashed into her friends.

"Hi, Sis," Jolene said, her voice weary and weak."Long time no see."

"Jolene, what happened to-" Mirage began to say, but her sister chose that moment to faint.

Catching her before she could hit the sidewalk, Flamestrike asked,"Home or hospital?"

"Tower," Mirage disagreed."We need to find out what happened to her."

"I'll take her," Reptile volunteered, as gunshots sounded in the distance."You two keep defending the city."

"But," Mirage and Flamestrike protested.

"No buts," Reptile said sternly."Vaco Bay needs us. We can't just drop everything because of your sister, Mirage. The two of you can fly-you can cover more ground than I can, and someone needs to start trying to find out what happened to Jolene. That's me, 'cause I'm the closest thing to a scientist that we got."

"Go," Flamestrike said, agreeing as he handed the unconscious girl over to him. "And let us know the moment you find out anything."

"Will do," Reptile stated, picking Jolene up bridal style, being mindful of his sharp claws."She's gonna be alright Mirage," he added, before racing off towards the tower.

From that point, the three Guardians of Vaco Bay split up again, Reptile headed away with Jolene, Flamestrike and Mirage stopping crime where it was found, protecting innocents, and in general putting the city back together. Mimic remained out of sight, but the Guardians knew he was behind some of the more serious incidents, such as Reptile's poisoning, which got the young heroes out of the way for a few days, and several other things like the attempted bank robbery. The rest were common crooks taking advantage of the panic and confusion. Still, rounding them all up and taking care of them took all night and most of the next day.

Exhausted and utterly spent, the two Guardians finally returned home late that evening. The police were taking care of the last few troublemakers, and had insisted that the tired heroes go home and rest. Despite the fact that they had agreed to return to their tower, the Guardians knew that the wouldn't be able to truly rest until they got some answers. Meeting them at the door, Reptile took note of his friends appearance and helped them inside.

"Jolene?" Mirage asked, her wings drooping from exhaustion.

"Unchanged," Reptile replied."She's in the infirmary. Vital signs are stable, but she's still unconscious. Rest is probably the best thing for all of us right now," he added, yawning. Literally getting pulled back into herowork right after recovering from being poisoned had taken its toll on him, and he was just as tired as his friends were.

"Any idea as to what happened to her?" Flamestrike asked, slightly more awake than Mirage.

"I have a few," he replied."But I'm too tired to think straight right now. Sleep first, questions later."

"Best idea I've heard all day," Flamestrike agreed, as he zombie-walked to his room. Mirage had looked in on Jolene then headed off to her room while the two boys were talking.

Before going to sleep himself, Reptile checked on Mirage's sister again, activated the towers security system, and set the alarm to wake him if the girl's condition changed. If Jolene woke up and started exploring the tower, she could get into all sorts of trouble. Guardians Tower employed several non-lethal security devices, but in her weakened condition, Jolene could still get hurt if she accidentally triggered one.

Morning seemed to come way too early for the three Guardians of Vaco Bay. Drained and grumpy due to the past two days of non-stop action, Flamestrike stalked his way outside to recharge in the sunlight. Mirage, seemingly weighed down by her wings, checked on Jolene and ate her breakfast in solemn silence. Last to wake, Reptile, his head held low and tail dragging limply across the kitchen floor, grunted 'good morning' to Mirage and fixed himself some toast. Cereal or anything else along those lines required too much effort and concentration from him at the moment. Toast didn't. Toast was easy, simple, and very hard to mess up. Toast, Reptile could handle.

"Reptile, you look just like I feel," Flamestrike said once he'd come back inside, causing the Guardian to glare at him venomously.

"What's on the agenda for today?" Mirage asked weakly, fluttering a wing to get their attention.

"Nothing I hope," Flamestrike stated, joining them at the table, using his powers to toast a bagel.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but we have plenty to do," Reptile announced sullenly, earning moans and groans from his team mates.

"What, exactly?" Flamestrike inquired."I mean, we sort-of saved the entire city these past few days. What else is left?"

"Questions," he answered."How, in three days time, did Vaco Bay fall apart? What's Mimic's role in this, and where is he? Why? And what for?"

"How'd my sister get involved?" Mirage added."And what happened to her? Who was controlling her the other day, and why?"

"All good questions," Flamestrike agreed, admitting defeat."So, how do we answer them?"

"Jolene," Reptile told him."Whenever she decides to wake up. Her explanations ought to shed some light on our problems. If not, we can always go question the criminals we caught these past few days."

"She _will_ wake up, right?" Mirage asked, concerned for her younger sister.

"I don't see any reason why she shouldn't," Reptile assured her."Aside from the obvious, there isn't anything else wrong with her."

"Except something happened to me," Jolene stated, appearing in the kitchen doorway."Care to fill me in 'Aaron'? Yes, I know who you really are, so stop gawking at me," she added, seeing the look on Reptile's face."You may look different, but your voice is still the same." The identities of the Guardians was a somewhat open secret, being that their friends and family knew who they really were, but the rest of the city didn't.

"You were spying on us," he accused, as she pulled up a seat at the table.

"Guilty," Jolene admitted."So, why am I here? I assume it's important, right?"

"It is," Flamestrike said."Why don't you tell us the last thing you remember, it'll help us out a lot."

"Well, I remember asking mom if I could stay the night at a friend's house," she told him."Does she know I'm here?"

"Yeah," Mirage stated, having called home earlier."Jolene, _you were missing for three days_. Mom said you left for your friend's house, and never made it there. She had the police searching for you."

"I was missing?" she asked, shocked."I don't remember any of it."

"Try," Reptile told her.

"I am trying!" she snapped at him."I wake up here and find out I'm missing three days of my life and can't remember _any _of it! I'm scared."

"So are we, Jolene," Flamestrike admitted, surprising her."These past few days have been crazy."

"We saved the entire city," Mirage clarified for her sister."But now we have a villain on the loose, one who's apparently trying to destroy Vaco Bay. This was his first attempt, and he nearly succeeded."

"That's not good," Jolene said, severely understating the problem."But what's all this have to do with me?" she asked."I mean, what happened during the time I can't remember?"

"_Everything_," Reptile stated."But you want to know how you're involved, right?"

"Right," she agreed.

"Then follow me," he said, standing and heading over to the elevator. Jolene followed, accompanied by her sister and Flamestrike as Reptile took them up to the towers command center."But I warn you, it isn't pretty."

"I kinda figured that," Jolene told him as they stepped off the elevator."What is this place?" she asked, looking around.

"Tower command center," Mirage explained."This is how we know when and where we are needed," she added, pointing out the computer systems and the electronic map of Vaco Bay on the table.

Clearing said map with the push of a few buttons, Reptile called up the police records of the past few days. Searching through the files, mainly the video recordings, the Guardian soon found what he was after-a surveillance video of their fight with Livewire. Which he then showed to Jolene.

"That, that's impossible," Jolene gasped, stunned after watching herself transform on the videotape."I won't believe it," she added stubbornly.

"A few years ago I never believed I could do _this_," Flamestrike demonstrated, holding up his fist and making it glow with his power."And I never thought the fate of Vaco Bay would rest on my-_our_-shoulders," he corrected, after receiving a glare from Mirage.

"But, but how?!" Jolene demanded, stuttering a bit.

"That's what we all want to find out," Reptile stated, one clawed finger tapping against the table."But to do that, we need to run some tests on you Jolene, starting with a DNA sample."

"Lets get to work then," she said, determined to get some answers.

About five hours later, the Guardians had their answers. Jolene's DNA was contaminated by the toxins that had originally created the Guardians themselves, though the concentration was _much_ higher. Her body was in a state of flux after being pushed to such an extreme, trying valiantly to reach an equilibrium. Slowly, over the course of a few weeks or months, Reptile reasoned, Jolene would revert to being Livewire again. In the process, her sanity, her capability to reason between right and wrong, _everything_, would falter and ultimately, fail. Jolene, in short, would slowly go insane.

"Can't we stop it!" Jolene cried, horrified as her sister held her.

"I, I don't know," Reptile told her."With us, the change was permanent. But you're different Jolene. Somehow, your transformation was _forced_, and made to proceed at a much faster pace than ours." The three Guardians knew that Mimic was to blame for this, thought none of them wanted to say it out loud.

"It took us half a year to get our powers," Flamestrike pointed out."But, from what these tests say, you got yours in a few days, maybe even a few_ hours_."

"I suspect it was the massive amounts of electricity you were absorbing," Reptile stated."I watched you grow stronger after tearing down some power lines."

"That's beside the point," Mirage stated."Can the process be reversed, or at least halted somehow?"

"In theory, yes," Reptile thought out loud, to the two sisters delight."If absorbing energy transformed Jolene, then draining it away just might reverse the process entirely."

"So, how do we do _that_?" Jolene asked, after being silent for a while.

"I'm not quite sure," he said quietly. Then, more loudly,"We need more _time_."

"I know," Flamestrike agreed."Is there any way to slow the transformation, give us time?" he asked their resident science expert.

"Perhaps," Reptile said, thinking rapidly."The tests show that Jolene seems to draw power from the earths electromagnetic field, from _any_ electrical field, for that matter. If we could figure out a way to cut off that energy absorbtion, it would be a cure. A temporary one, but it would give us time to think up a real solution."

"Still not giving us a real answer," Mirage said, mostly to herself.

"I'm _trying_, ok!" Reptile said, half-snarling in frustration."This problem isn't a simple one. It's not easy to come up with a way to shield someone from_ all _forms of energy."

"A shield." Flamestrike muttered, thinking."One that blocks energy..."

"That's what we need," Mirage said, being sarcastic."Any ideas Reptile?"

"None at the moment," he admitted, growling."But I'll think of something."

"You always do," she reassured him, sensing that Reptile was reaching his wit's end. Due to the chaos of the past few days, they all were.

"I got nothing," Flamestrike said, having wracked his brain searching for a solution to their problem."But I _know _there's a way to block energy."

"How long until I start to go crazy?" Jolene asked quietly, breaking their discussion.

"Days, maybe a few weeks," Reptile stated solemnly."But we're not gonna let that happen," he added defiantly.

"No we won't," Flamestrike agreed.

"You can count on that," Mirage promised her sister.

Rallying around that commitment, the three Guardians began their task anew, searching for a cure to Jolene's condition. It took them three days to come up with a plan, and a week to enact it. During that time, Jolene began to show signs that her mind was beginning to fade. She would stare at nothing for minutes on end, abruptly walk away from someone talking to her, or fly into a fit of rage at the slightest provocation.

By the time she was placed into the hastily constructed 'energy-absorbing' cell, Jolene had stopped talking completely. Mirage feared for her sister, feared that the machine would not work, but knew that all she could do was shut Jolene inside it and hope for the best. Flamestrike and Reptile hoped with her, just as concerned for Jolene.

The machine itself was a masterpiece of determination and the focus of iron wills. Cobbled together using several computers, parts from solar panels, and an old diving bell, it was held together by high-tech welding, nuts, bolts, and even duct tape. Not able to construct it inside the tower due to lack of space, the Guardians had been forced to set the thing up outside, right beside their home. It was by no means a lovely device to look at, but, judging by the light-show going on inside, it was functional.

Waiting nervously as the machine worked through its programming, the three Guardians could only hope that they had been successful. Mirage, wings shivering, had tears in her dark eyes as the machine turned off and the door creaked open. Mist and a pale white glow emerged from the doorway, followed shortly by Mirage's sister.

"Did it work?" Mirage asked cautiously, fearful that they had failed in their efforts to save Jolene. Something was wrong-everyone could _feel _it. There was a subtle not-rightness in the air, the kind of feeling that usually preceded great danger.

"It...worked," Jolene said slowly, her voice strange.

"Jolene, are you alright?" Reptile questioned, tail twitching in barely contained agitation. He was scared-they all were.

"I don't know," she replied, in that same, strange monotone. Her voice was devoid of all emotion."Am I alright?" she asked him, stepping forward and out of the machine. For a brief second, her eyes flashed, almost appearing to arc with electricity.

"No," Reptile said, unconsciously taking a step back."I'm not so sure that you are, Jolene. Tell me, how do you feel?"

"Angry," she relied, voice still cold and emotionless. Sensing the Guardians fear, she added,"But I have control. I am myself again Reptile. I thank you all, for helping me." Turning to face her sister, Jolene added,"We are the same again, Nancy. Witness the damage Mimic has done to me, and see how the three of you have healed that wound."

With that said, Jolene raised just one hand skyward, and thunder boomed on an otherwise clear night. Suddenly, a jagged bolt of lightning streaked down from the sky to Jolene's fist, where it struggled like a trapped animal for a second, before surging forth and blasting a nearby boulder into gravel. The Guardians were appropriately stunned by this show of power from the teenage girl.

"_What have you done to her_?!" Mirage demanded, grabbing Reptile and shoving him back against the outside wall of their home, her dark eyes glinting dangerously.

"I...I didn't," Reptile stammered as Flamestrike pulled Mirage off of him.

"It wasn't him," Flamestrike said, as Jolene lowered her arm."Don't you see? _He _didn't do this Mirage. _We _did. Us."

"And if we hadn't done it, she'd be insane," Mirage stated angrily."But Mimic was the cause. And he will pay. _He will pay dearly for this._"

"I agree," Jolene said, bringing the Guardians attentions back to her."Mimic must pay. I know what he seeks to do. I _remember_. Mimic has a base of action not unlike this one. He, too, has technology at his disposal. But there is a bigger problem: another villain is involved, is aiding Mimic."

"How do you know this?" Flamestrike asked, speaking to Jolene for the first time since she came out of the chamber.

"The machine has helped me," she replied cryptically, before continuing."I was an experiment of Mimic's. A failed one, but still progress towards what he and his master wish to do."

"And what do they want?" Reptile inquired quietly.

"The world," Jolene answered."Mimic and his allies want the world. And they know how to take it. Mimic and his master have more of the stuff that created us. And they intend to use it. It will begin in this city. Once they have taken Vaco Bay and made it theirs, they will have a powerful base, with thousands of potential warriors. Thousands of potential Livewires. If Vaco Bay falls, no-one may be able to stop them."

"Other heroes in other cities will fight-" Flamestrike began, but was interrupted by Jolene.

"Many places do not have heroes," she stated simply."These cities the villains will target, until they are strong enough to take over the places that do have protectors."

"If Vaco Bay falls," Reptile stated.

"If Vaco Bay falls," Jolene repeated.

"Then we mustn't let that happen," Mirage declared."Where is Mimic's base?" she asked her sister.

"In an old warehouse on the edge of town," Jolene replied."But it is a fortress now, sister. Security devices, robots, Mimic and his master even have computerized machine guns that will shoot anyone they don't recognize. Flying in is unwise. Mimic has the roof guarded. If you try it, you will be shot down," she told Flamestrike, who was about to suggest that."And, unlike you Guardians, Mimic and his allies are more than willing to use deadly force."

"What about my abilities?" Mirage asked."I can get us in, easy."

"Mimic knows you," she stated."He has been watching, and knows you use shadows to travel around. He's used lights and lighting to his advantage, erasing any shadows you could have used to get in."

"Then how are we supposed to get in?" Reptile complained."We have to stop him, we can't just sit here and do nothing!"

"You will find a way," she told him."Mimic's lair is next to the processing plant just west of the city. It may be his stronghold but it is not invincible. But that is your task, not mine. I must go now."

"Go?" Mirage asked, followed seconds later by Flamestrike and Reptile."Go where?""Why?""What for?"

"I do not belong here anymore," she told them, despite their objections."I must leave. Control of my power has given me knowledge not my own, knowledge not meant for human eyes. I must learn to understand it, but I cannot do that _here_."

"But where will you go?" Mirage cried, knowing that there was no real way to stop her sister."What about mom and dad? What will I tell them? What about me?"

"Tell them the truth. Tell them that I have gone away," Jolene said."I know not where, or for how long I will be gone, but I will return here someday."

With that comment, Mirage's sister spread her arms and _levitated _into the air. Her eyes seemed to spark again briefly, then, with a flash of light and a rumble of thunder, she vanished. Stunned, the three Guardians stared at the spot where Jolene had disappeared, unable to really comprehend what had happened.

"That, was _strange_," Reptile stated several moments later.

"A nine-point-nine on my weirdness scale," Flamestrike agreed."Mirage, are you ok?" he asked quietly, realizing that he had just been extremely insensitive and called Mirage's _sister_ one of the weirdest things he'd ever seen.

"No," she said coldly."I'm not alright, _Darren_. My sister is _gone_, disappeared to who-knows-where, and we have no clue when or even_ if _she'll ever come back! I'm not alright. And I'm not going to be until Mimic pays for what he has done," she added, her voice full of rage yet eerily calm at the same time.

_Chapter Two: Chaos_

"What do you mean, we're not going?!" Mirage demanded, wings fanned open in agitation.

She and the other two Guardians were in the tower command center, gathered around the electronic table, which at the moment displayed nothing more than Mirage's angry expression reflected on the glass. A month had passed since Jolene's departure, and Mirage had spent every spare moment plotting to invade Mimic's base. She'd finally come up with a plan and presented it to her friends, only to have them deny her.

"It's too risky," Reptile told her, barely able to avoid snarling the words. He and Flamestrike were becoming concerned about Mirage, thinking that her quest for justice had devolved into an unhealthy desire for revenge.

"It is not!" she proclaimed, folding her wings shut tightly against her back."We _can _do this. I know it."

"Your so-called 'plan' would have us playing russian roulette with a fully loaded gun," Flamestrike retorted, fist striking the table in emphasis of his anger."Don't get me wrong, it's a good plan: if there were five or six of us instead of just_ three _it would work perfectly." Stunned into silence, Mirage glared at him, trying to think of a fitting way to tell him off.

"Mirage, if we do this, we'll be leaving the city completely unprotected," Reptile cautioned, before she could say anything."Look at it from Mimic's view: he _wants _us to try and attack that base. He _wants _us to leave Vaco Bay unprotected again. I wouldn't be surprised at all if that 'base' is little more than a cleverly disguised _trap_."

"You're afraid!" Mirage accused unexpectedly, throwing her hands up in the air and turning away from her friends."Rationalize it all you want, but I know the truth of the matter now." Whirling to face them again, she jabbed a finger in Reptile's direction and snarled,"Admit it Reptile! You're _scared _to face Mimic."

"_Take that back_!" Reptile roared, vaulting over the table as if it wasn't even there. "Take it back right now, Mirage!"

"Make me," she dared, her dark eyes glinting dangerously in the light.

"Come on guys, knock it off," Flamestrike said, stepping between his two friends before actual violence could erupt."I know the two of you don't really want to fight."

"Yes, we do," Mirage stated, trying to slip past him."Now get out of my way!"

"Who told _you_ to interfere," Reptile growled, claws flexed and teeth bared. "I tried," Flamestrike muttered under his breath as he stepped aside, threatened by Mirage and menaced by Reptile. The young hero had no real choice but to watch as his two closest friends squared off against each other.

"Take your remark back Mirage," Reptile hissed, free to do as he pleased now. "Don't make me make you," he added, glaring at her.

Taking a step back, Mirage found herself unexpectedly trapped against one of the large windows that dominated the front half of the command center. In the bright light, she couldn't use her usual tactic of disappearing and reappearing, and was faced with the very real possibility of having to fight _without_ the aid of her powers.

"Scared, Mirage?" Reptile asked, hissing the words as he caught the moment of indecision that flickered across her face.

"No," she said, trying to sound brave, despite the fact that she was indeed afraid. Mirage _did_ know how to fight without using her powers, and had done so before, but she did _not _like it at all.

Taking another step forward, Reptile laughed when Mirage tried to back further away from him."You _are _afraid," he observed, raking his claws against the glass.

"Enough, Reptile," Flamestrike ordered, ill at ease and not used to having to play at being rational and leader-like, which was normally Reptile's area of expertise."Mirage, you too. Think for a moment: Do you really want to destroy your friendship? And what would happen to this city if the two of you fought? We have a responsibility to uphold, and we can't afford to let our disagreements affect that. Now, both of you back off and apologize to one another."

"You're right," Reptile admitted grudgingly, stepping away from Mirage, who visibly relaxed."I'm sorry Mirage."

"Now you," Flamestrike prompted."Apologize to Reptile."

"Very well," Mirage stated, crossing her arms. But before she could actually say the words, an earth-shaking explosion rocked Guardians Tower, shattering most of the windows and knocking the three heroes off their feet.

"What the!?" Flamestrike yelled, rising as alarms began to sound.

"What's going on!" Mirage shrieked, as a second blast rocked the building.

"Guardians Tower is under attack!" Reptile yelled, leaping over to a computer and typing frantically."Defense grid coming online...now!"

"Visuals?" Flamestrike asked, helping Mirage to her feet.

"Armored vehicle of some sort," he replied, bringing it up on the computer screen as more blasts shook the tower."Its already taken out our security devices."

"How do we stop it?" Mirage demanded.

"Blast it!" Flamestrike suggested immediately, hands starting to glow.

"We can't," Mirage said quickly."If we blow it up, we blow up whoever's driving it!" Another explosion followed that statement.

"They're trying to destroy the whole building!" Reptile said, as more bombs rocked the tower."Flamestrike, think you can blast their weapons without blowing the vehicle up?"

"I'll try!" he said, soaring out the broken window, Mirage right behind him. She would run interference for Flamestrike, draw their fire so he could take aim at the weapons.

Alone for the moment, Reptile took a brief second to assess the situation. Outside, Mirage and Flamestrike had engaged the enemy, drawing their fire away from the tower. Inside, jagged cracks zig-zagged all over the place, mainly on the walls but also on parts of the floor and ceiling. According to the computer reports, there was a massive hole on the second floor, and the ceiling had collapsed on the first. Guardians Tower was heavily damaged.

Feeling that he was completely useless for the first time since his transformation, Reptile nevertheless couldn't stand there idlely while his friends fought. Darting over to the broken window, the earth-bound Guardian used his talons to grip the side of the tower and slid/fell to the bottom eighty feet below, landing in a crouched position. He had used this skill before, and had discovered it on their very first hero mission.

Rising, Reptile turned and saw the attacking vehicle for the first time with his own two eyes. It was massive, easily the size of a semi-trailor, and shaped sort-of like a bulldozer, complete with tank-like treads and forward-facing scoop. But that was where the similarities ended. Gun turrets protruded above the scoop and from the vehicles sides, and on top of it was what appeared to be a rocket launcher. The vehicle itself was painted in camouflage colors, and, judging by the _deep_ tracks it had made, was clearly armored with several inches of heavy steel plating.

Swooping and diving above the monstrous machine, Flamestrike and Mirage took turns drawing the vehicles fire. Several times, Mirage flew dangerously close to the thing to give Flamestrike a clear shot at the weapons, of which there were many. Clearly the forward turrets and rocket launcher were for destroying the tower only, for they were too slow to hit either of the airborne Guardians.

Not quite true for Reptile however, as he quickly found out. Catching him by surprise, the rocket launcher swiveled on its base and fired at him, though the missile overshot its target, exploding harmlessly against a boulder thirty feet away. Awakened to the danger he was in by that blast, Reptile took off, seeking shelter amid the Point's many rocks just seconds before another rocket slammed into the spot where he'd been standing and exploded. Machine gun fire sprayed against his refuge moments later, from one of the turrets on the sides of the attacking vehicle.

"Reptile, watch out!" Mirage yelled as the vehicle turned, bringing its heavier weapons to bear on the Guardians shelter. The boulders held though, but Reptile's relief was short-lived.

"Get outta there!" Flamestrike warned, tossing energy bolts to try and distract their attackers."It's coming right at you!"

It was true. The monstrous vehicle was rumbling toward Reptile, the driver intent on crushing the Guardian beneath his refuge. Not willing to literally be caught between a rock and a hard place, the Guardian waited 'til the last possible moment, then darted out of his hiding place.

"We gotta help him," Flamestrike said to Mirage as he fired on the vehicle again, causing it to turn and shoot at him instead of Reptile. He had quickly discovered that his standard energy bolts did nothing to the machine due to its armor, but they were excellent at getting the drivers attention.

Watching his friends draw the enemy's fire, Reptile came up with a plan. A dangerous plan, but a plan just the same. Dodging stray bullets, he insanely began to run right at the vehicle, to his friends horror.

"Reptile no!" Mirage shouted, as the machine turned and fired at him.

"Trust me!" he yelled up at her, ducking behind a boulder as the vehicle brought its heavy weapons into play against him."I gotta get closer!"

"I see what he's doing," Flamestrike said. Destroying a rocket launched his way, he swooped over to Mirage."The vehicle has a blind spot," he informed her quickly."If Reptile can get close enough, it won't be able to shoot at him."

"And if it can't shoot at him, he can get on it and get inside to stop whoever's driving it!" she exclaimed.

"Exactly," Flamestrike grinned.

Onboard with their fellow Guardians plan, Mirage and Flamestrike helped draw the vehicles fire, swooping and diving as close as they dared. All the while, Reptile sprinted from refuge to refuge, getting closer and closer to the machine as it fired at all of them. Soon, he was so close to it that the vehicle couldn't shoot at him unless it backed away from the Guardian. Now was the time to strike.

Putting on one last burst of speed, Reptile leapt, and landed on top of the vehicles treads. Catching his balance and climbing fast, he soon reached the cabin of the machine. Spotting a likely looking seam for a door, the Guardian sank his claws into the gap and _heaved_, the sound of tortured metal being torn apart momentarily drowning out the roar of the massive vehicles a final pull, Reptile ripped the door open, breaking the locking mechanism and almost falling off the vehicle. Recovering, he quickly stormed inside.

And was almost as quickly thrown back out, hurled by a fist nearly the size of a hubcap and covered with reddish-brown fur. An ape-like bellow accompanied that fist, which had flung Reptile at least twenty feet away from the Mirage and Flamestrike landed and helped Reptile up, the creature that owned that massive fist emerged from the vehicle.

At first glance, it appeared to be a gorilla-short legs, long arms-though its hair was a shade of red not unlike the fur of a fox. Second glances revealed that the face was distinctly dog-like, resembling a pit bull or english bulldog, complete with jowls and short floppy ears. It wore nothing, except for a headset communicator perched on one ear.

"That isn't good," Reptile coughed, as the monster leapt to the ground, landing with a muffled thump in front of its vehicle. The beasts punch had caught him square in the face, and one of his front teeth felt loose. The landing had wrenched his arm painfully as well, and he winced as he moved it.

"You ok?" Flamestrike asked, stepping in front of him, both hands glowing as the monster calmly surveyed the scene.

"I will be," he said, his speech slurred a little as he worked his sore jaw."I take it this is one of Mimic's creations?"

"Yep," Mirage agreed, wings flared in anger."It has to be. And it's our job to take him down."

"You can try," spoke the beast, in shockingly good english despite its facial features."I am called Maddog, and I am not alone. This, is Hydraya," he stated, stepping aside as a new figure emerged from the vehicle. Maddog may have said more, but Reptile and Flamestrike were oblivious to it. Hydraya had their full attention.

Beautiful and completely normal-looking except for her blue-black shoulder length hair, Hydraya could've easily put any supermodel to shame. From her sea-green eyes to the dark jumpsuit that oddly showed off her physique instead of hiding it, Hydraya had the two male Guardians right where she wanted them, slowly drawing a gun from behind her back to end the teenage heroes.

And she would have too, if not for Mirage. Off like an arrow and startling her fellow Guardians into action, Mirage plowed into Hydraya before she knew what hit her-and sailed straight through the female villain, almost flying into the vehicle her opponent had ridden in. Straining her wings and stalling out, Mirage landed roughly and turned to face Hydraya, while Flamestrike and Reptile engaged Maddog.

"My name is Hydraya for a reason, Guardian," the villain laughed, her skin rippling in waves until she'd revealed her true form, that of a snake-like eel-woman, complete with gills, webbed fingers, and a fin at the end of her tail."How do you fight what you cannot touch?" she taunted, cackling madly."Huh, Guardian?" Hydraya had turned ocean-blue in color, and no longer even appeared human except for her arms and face. Her clothing and hair had disappeared as well.

"I might ask you the same question," Mirage stated, shifting from shadow to shadow around Hydraya."My name is Mirage."

"Stalemate then, Mirage?" Hydraya said, lazily coiling around, following the Guardians movements."That's not like you, or so I've heard."

"No, it's not!" Mirage agreed, unexpectedly appearing out of Hydraya's shadow and giving her such a punch to the face that she was rocked back by the blow. Then Mirage vanished again, as quick as she'd struck.

"Oh, so that's how it is, is it?" Hydraya hissed, feeling her cheek."Congradulations Guardian-you're the first person to land a hit on me since I was changed. I'd say that in a fair fight, we'd be evenly matched. But then again, I don't fight fair."

That said, there was no more need for words between the two combatants. Mirage circled, landing blow after blow upon Hydraya, who remained coiled, ready to strike should she get the chance. Behind them, Maddog, Reptile and Flamestrike battled it out amongst themselves, each landing good, solid strikes against the others, though neither side appeared to be winning.

But then Hydraya figured out the pattern to Mirage's attacks, and her opportunity to strike presented itself. Mirage would circle her three times in one direction, twice in the other, then come in close. Three, two, close and hit. Three, two, close and hit. Three, two, close and-Hydraya _struck! _lashing out with her serpents tail and sending Mirage flying like a football.

Recovering from that hit just in time to avoid crashing, Mirage flapped her wings and skimmed along the ground, so low that she could have reached down and touched the rocks. Veering around and climbing into the sky, Mirage was almost knocked out of the air by a blast of water strong enough to have come from a firehose. Too soaked to fly, the Guardian glided down and landed behind a boulder, seeking refuge from Hydraya's watery weapon.

Shadow-walking to another large rock, Mirage was about to renew her attack on the villain when a powerful blast of water slammed her against the boulder with enough force that she actually saw stars. It had come from a large, seemingly harmless, puddle of water in front of her, though Mirage knew better now. Rippling, the water rose up and, unsurprisingly, transformed into Hydraya.

"Like that, Guardian?" she taunted, slithering over to Mirage."I bet that bump on the head really hurts, doesn't it? Well, that's nothing compared to what Mimic's going to do to you. You Guardians are nothing but an annoyance, and now he's going to smash you like the bugs you are. Maddog, lets go!" she cried, revealing that both Flamestrike and Reptile had been beaten, and lay unconscious at the beasts feet.

"You have the girl?" he asked, tossing Flamestrike onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and heading for their vehicle. Reptile he dragged, pulling him along by his tail.

"Got her," Hydraya replied, turning back and grabbing Mirage by the arm."Now, are you going to come quietly or do we have to beat you senseless like your friends over there?"

"I'm not going anywhere," Mirage declared, disappearing into her own shadow and out of Hydraya's grasp.

"Maddog lookout! She's loose!" Hydraya screamed. Her warning came too late however, for Mirage appeared out of Maddog's shadow, grabbed hold of her fellow Guardians, and vanished all in the space of three seconds.

"No!" Maddog bellowed, clawing at the air where the Guardian had been only a few seconds earlier."Where'd they go?!" he demanded, looking around.

"I don't know," Hydraya answered, resuming her human form and walking over to him."But Mimic will not be pleased. And neither will his master." The villains weren't terribly upset-after all, they had _beaten _the Guardians and forced them to flee.

"That guy is creepy," Maddog stated as he climbed back into the driver's seat of their vehicle, Hydraya taking her place beside him in the gunners chair."Did you notice that the mask he wears only has _one _eyehole? Talk about weird."

"I suppose it is a bit strange," spoke an oddly calm voice from behind them, causing the two villains to jump and whirl around."But it serves its purpose, unlike the two of you. State of the art weapons, enhanced mutation and genetics, and still you couldn't capture three _very _amateur superheroes. I could take these 'Guardians' apart without even breaking a sweat. Now tell me: How, exactly, did you lose when the odds were clearly stacked in your favor?" Mimic's master asked.

"We had them!" Maddog bellowed, momentarily forgetful of who he was talking to. Aware of his mistake, he cringed and stated,"It was the girl Guardian, sir. She can disappear. That's how they escaped."

"Yes," the man replied thoughtfully, remembering events past."I have seen such abilities before. I will excuse your incompetence, _this _time, but the two of you will be punished if you fail again. Now, destroy that pathetic 'tower' and let us leave before we are spotted. And, call me Slade..."

_Chapter Three: Defeated?_

"Tell me that didn't just happen," Flamestrike groaned, having woken up to Mirage placing something cold on his forehead."Tell me we didn't just lose."

"We did," she told him, her voice cold."Now lie still. I have to tend to Reptile. He's worse off than you are."

"He did take a beating," Flamestrike remembered, feeling the large bump on his head but otherwise obeying Mirage and laying still."Where are we?"

"Inside the old observatory," she replied, from somewhere to his left."It was the only place I knew to go. They destroyed the tower."

"They what!?" Flamestrike cried, wincing as he sat up, his headache worsening.

"It's gone," she repeated."Mimic's cronies kept bombing it until it fell over. Now be quiet while I help Reptile."

"How bad is he?" Flamestrike asked, after several moments of silence.

"Not good," Mirage said."You got a bump on the head-I think he might actually have a concussion. And there's a deep cut on his arm."

"And yourself?" Flamestrike asked slowly.

"Scrapes and bruises mostly," Mirage told him."My wings are sore from where Hydraya blasted me against a rock-I don't think I can fly for a while."

"I tried to fry her," Flamestrike said, checking himself for injuries that Mirage may have overlooked."That's when Maddog knocked me out. Felt like he dropped a truck on my head."

"That was me," Reptile announced, as Mirage helped him to sit up. Clarifying what he had said, he added,"Maddog hit you with me. Threw me like a frisbee _Bam! _right into you," he smiled grimly, revealing that he'd lost one of his teeth in the fight.

"You ok?" Mirage asked him, offering Reptile a hand as he got to his feet.

"Think so," Reptile said."Arm's the worst of it, and my tooth'll grow back thanks to my regenerative reptilian genetics." It was true-the Guardians had learned during their crime-fighting that Reptile healed faster than normal, and could heal things that normal people couldn't."I got one monster of a headache, but otherwise, I'm fine. Where are we?"

"The old observatory," Flamestrike replied, taking note of his surroundings for the first time since waking up. Long abandoned shipping crates littered the vast room, and a large empty hole revealed where the telescope had once been. Dust and cobwebs coated everything, and parts of the domed ceiling looked ready to collapse at the slightest touch. "They...they destroyed the Tower, Reptile. It's gone," he added.

"And now we are in hiding," Mirage stated sullenly, sitting down on a box."We lost. It's _over_. Done. The Guardians are no more," she cried, wings drooping lifelessly and tears filling her eyes.

"Yet, we are still here," Reptile said, raising her chin up with a claw. Wiping away a tear, he stated,"We aren't gone. And this _isn't _over. I say we can still do this. We can stop Mimic-I know it! We've saved the city from his scheming before, and we can do it again."

"But...but we _lost_!" she said, fresh tears running down her face.

"This battle, yes," he agreed reluctantly, helping Mirage to her feet."But the war is still ours to _win_."

"Can we?" she asked, being sarcastic in her saddness."Look around, Reptile. Open your eyes. We have _nothing _left. It's over. Mimic has won."

"That isn't true," Flamestrike said angrily, joining their dispute."Mimic can only win if the three of us _give up_. And I don't plan on doing that."

"And neither do I," Reptile growled in agreement."What about you Mirage? We _need_ you. This city, _needs_ you. Are you really going to say 'I quit' just because we lost _one _fight?"

"I say," Mirage stated, remembering all the lives she'd saved, the people that she had helped, and the difference she had made,"That we got a battle to fight!"

"A war to win!" Flamestrike yelled, thrusting a glowing fist in the air.

"And a city to save!" Reptile bellowed mightily, rattling dust from the ceiling.

"The Guardians, are _back_!"

From that moment on, there was no more whining, no more complaining, and no more talk of giving up. Flamestrike and Reptile had been unconscious for almost two days, giving the villains a massive head start. A robotic army had overrun the city in their absence, appearing out of nowhere after Guardians Tower had fallen. Man-shaped and wearing black armor and masks with a copper-colored circle painted in the middle of their faces, they had driven off anyone capable of fighting back, and run most of the city's population out of town. Where they had come from, the Guardians didn't know nor did they care, but they had to be stopped.

But, knowing what had to be done and knowing _how _to do it were two very different things, as Flamestrike pointed out. Three against five thousand were not good odds, and unlike the robots, the Guardians were unarmed, except for their powers and determination.

After a brief debate on the subject, the three heroes decided to sneak into the city after dark, and try to avoid and slip past the mechanical warriors. Their goal: find Mimic, defeat him, and destroy the master switch that operated the robots. With so many of them, there had to be a way to control them, Reptile had explained. Destroy the link and they should all deactivate.

Finding no easy way to by-pass the robots above-ground, and unwilling to shadow-walk for fear of emerging right in front of their enemies, Mirage had the bright idea to enter the city using the sewers. Complaints about the stench began immediately, but the Guardians did successfully get past the defensive grid the robots had established. Now they would only have to deal with scattered pockets of the androids while they searched for Mimic and his cronies, Hydraya and Maddog.

As luck would have it, that search ended rather abruptly, with the Guardians literally running into Maddog, Hydraya and about a dozen robots as they were coming out of a bank, arms loaded with sacks of money. This time however, the fight went very differently. Reptile took on the robots, Mirage fought Maddog, and Flamestrike faced off against Hydraya.

The robots, tough as they were, couldn't compete with Reptile's speed and strength and were smashed one by one. Maddog, up against a disappearing/reappearing enemy, and Hydraya, unable to withstand Flamestrike's firepower, fled soon after. And, just like that, round two was over, with the Guardians the victors.

Unable to find or capture the villains after a short search for them, the three heroes moved on, scouring the city in their efforts to find Mimic. Robots were encountered on four separate occasions, and quickly destroyed despite their numbers. A fog, pushed inland by a coastal breeze, made these encounters all the more frightening. Visability fell to less than a couple dozen feet despite Vaco Bay's street lights still being on-not very far when one has to react to a squad of charging androids.

"What do we do now?" Reptile asked in a whisper, once the fog had thickened to soup-like density and he couldn't see more than ten feet in front of him.

"We stop," Flamestrike stated."Before we run into the main robot army. We can't fight off hundreds of them. A dozen, yes. Thirty, yes. Fifty? It's possible. More? _Maybe_. But hundreds? Absolutely not."

"We'd be crushed," Mirage agreed, looking ghost-like in the mist."So, what do we do? We can't just stand here in the middle of the street."

"We have to hide, and rest," Flamestrike nodded, agreeing reluctantly."Any suggestions?"

"Not the sewers," Reptile immediately stated."My nose can't handle that again."

"Rooftop?" Mirage asked, shaking the condensation off her wings.

"No good," Flamestrike disagreed."Visibility is better up there. I don't want to risk getting sniped at."

"That leaves inside," Reptile stated, agreeing with his friend."Mimic knows us, so that means he knows where we used to live. That makes going home a _bad_ idea." They had stopped to check on their parents once getting into the city, only to find that they, too, had evacuated, along with most everyone else in Vaco Bay."I think our best bet is to hide in the mall. It's spacious, has lots of maneuvering room, and thousands of hiding places."

"Good idea," Mirage agreed."And I've been there before plenty of times, so I can shadow-walk us in no problem." Back when they had first gotten their powers, Mirage had discovered that she could only shadow-walk to places she had been to before. It was her greatest weakness.

"Looks like we're camping out in the mall then," Flamestrike said, as he and Reptile joined hands with Mirage."Take us there, but be ready to bring us back here if there's trouble," he cautioned her.

Fortunately, the part of the mall Mirage took them to was unoccupied. Swiftly gathering up some things they needed, like food and blankets, the three heroes camped out until morning, sleeping in shifts so there was always someone watching for trouble. Reptile, having raided an electronics store when they arrived, spent most of the night working on something he said they would need later. Twice, robotic patrols entered and searched the building, but the Guardians remained undetected. News of the heroes return must've gotten back to whoever was controlling the machines, hence the searches.

Continuing their mission in the early hours of the morning, Reptile, Flamestrike and Mirage felt as though they were walking through a ghost town. In the middle of Vaco Bay, a place normally blaring with noise at this hour, all was silent. Signs of battle in and around the police station led Reptile to believe that, instead of retreating, the officers had been driven away by force. A SWAT team truck lay on its side nearby, its passenger side crumpled in, as if it had been rammed off the road by another, larger vehicle.

Robots roamed the city in groups of thirty, patrolling in a standard grid pattern, so, for the Guardians it was difficult but not impossible to avoid them. Of Mimic, there was no sign until around noon, when Hydraya and Maddog showed up for round three with the heroes. The villains put up a good fight, but were eventually captured when they tried to flee by getting back into their tank-like vehicle. Flamestrike, in a stroke of brilliance, fused the treads to the ground with his powers then melted the door shut, effectively trapping the two villains inside. Hydraya and Maddog tried shooting at the Guardians, but by that point, Reptile had gotten under the vehicle and cut all power to the machine. They were caught.

About an hour after that encounter, Mimic decided to show himself. Dressed in the same black armor of the robots, he appeared before the Guardians as his human self, that of a teenaged boy of average height, size and appearance. Even without his powers of transformation, he could have easily blended in with a crowd and vanished. For a moment both sides simply stared at one another, then Mimic spoke.

"I come to deliver a warning, Guardians," he said. Even his voice was deceptively normal."Leave or be destroyed. Accept the fact that Vaco Bay is not yours anymore. Cut your losses before it-"

"No," Reptile growled, interrupting him.

"What?" Mimic stated, growing angry."What did you say?"

"We said no," Flamestrike said, stepping forward, his fists clenched and glowing. "And now I give you _your _final warning, Mimic. Surrender now, or else. We already have Maddog and Hydraya, so unless you have more mutants to throw at us, we have you out-numbered."

"Did you forget about the robots, fire-boy?" Mimic taunted."I can have all of them swarm you if you take even one wrong step." Reptile just laughed at the villains threat.

"We didn't forget," Reptile stated, holding up a cell phone-sized device."_This_ is an electrostatic generator. It'll cancel out any radio signal within a hundred feet of it."

"That means you can't call your robots to help you," Mirage said, smiling evilly.

"Who said I'll even need to call them?" Mimic grinned."And only _un_shielded devices are affected by that generator of yours." Touching something on his arm, he asked to the empty air,"Should I attack them now?"

"Proceed, my apprentice," came an eerily calm voice, revealing that Mimic had a communicator on his arm."Remember what you have learned and victory is ours."

"Yes, master," he replied, looking back up at the Guardians."It's time to end this," he announced, shape-shifting into each hero before combining their forms into one single, monstrous beast.

Taking to the air on wings copied from Mirage, Mimic launched a Flamestrike energy bolt from Reptile's dinosaur-like jaws. Mimic had become a dragon. Scattering, the Guardians took cover as _fire_ began raining down upon them.

"_You _never threw _fire _before," Reptile yelled at Flamestrike, who had hidden with him behind an abandoned bus."How's _he _doing it?!"

"I don't know!" he replied, as the bus began to scorch and melt beneath Mimic's barrage."I've never _tried _that!" Leaning out from behind their cover, Flamestrike returned fire, only to have Mimic dive under his energy bolt and vanish into a shadow cast by a nearby building.

"I'm on it!" Mirage shouted, vanishing into the shadow of the car she'd taken cover behind.

Waiting nervously for Mirage's return, Flamestrike and Reptile stood side by side in the middle of the street, watching for any sign of her re-emergence. Despite this, they were still horrified when she came out of the shadows twelve stories up the side of a skyscraper, grappling with Mimic as they plummeted toward the ground. Realizing the danger they were in, both Mirage and Mimic vanished, only to appear at the foot of the building, still fighting. Tossing Mirage away before the other Guardians could assist her, Mimic disappeared into his own shadow, this time in the middle of shape-shifting.

Righting herself in mid-air, Mirage pursued, calling out,"Oh no you don't!" as she dove into the shadow of the bus her friends had been behind.

Unwilling spectators in this 'shadow-game', Flamestrike and Reptile were forced to wait helplessly as Mirage fought Mimic, deep inside the dark nothingness that she used to shadow-walk. Coming back out of the shadows via silhouette of a parked car, Mirage soared into the sky, inexplicably chased by..._another_ _Mirage._ Mimic had turned himself into a duplicate of the Guardian, ensuring confusion and chaos as he and the real Mirage fought, wings beating and fists flying.

"Which one?" Flamestrike started to ask, but was silenced as both Mirage's crash-landed across the street, though fortunately, they had been close to the ground at the time and didn't seem injured.

"Flamestrike, blast him!" both Mirage's cried, rising to their feet and pointing at each other."I'm the real Mirage!" they both added, sounding identical.

"I can't tell..." Flamestrike said nervously, hands glowing."Freeze, both of you!" he commanded, causing both the Guardian and her duplicate to put their hands up and back a few steps away from each other.

"They both look the same," Reptile pointed out, stating the obvious.

"It seems to me that we've reached a stalemate," the Mirage on the left said, after a few moments had passed.

"True," Flamestrike admitted reluctantly. He knew that Mimic was doing this just to unnerve them, and maybe get them to attack the wrong Mirage."Reptile?" he asked, hands charged and ready to fire.

"I can't tell them apart either," he said quietly."Left Mirage is right...Stalemate, unless we can figure out how to tell 'em apart. Or until Mimic tires of his game."

"Personal questions?" Right Mirage suggested, overhearing him."Ask me stuff only the _real_ Mirage would know."

"Too risky," Flamestrike stated."Mimic knows us about as well as we know each other."

"Not everything," Right Mirage countered."Surely Mimic wouldn't know, like, my shoe size or birthday or whatever. Would he?"

"Yes he would," Left Mirage said angrily."He's had plenty of time to spy on us. He could know everything that we'd consider important."

"Which is which?" Flamestrike muttered to Reptile."I can't hold a blast forever."

"I know," Reptile hissed back at him. To the twin Mirage's, he said,"This is rather pointless Mimic. We all know that this little charade of yours isn't going to work."

"Then what are we going to do?" Flamestrike whispered to him."Mimic won't show himself or run away. This is a fight to the finish."

"True," Reptile replied quietly, thinking hard."But I just _might_ have a way to tell them apart. Help me to stall them so I can test my idea."

"What are you two mumbling about?" One of the Mirage's asked."I hope it's a way to solve this predicament without me having to dodge energy bolts."

"Maybe," Flamestrike responded, stalling just as Reptile told him to.

"We've decided to question you," Reptile said.

"I thought we all agreed that was too risky," the Mirage on the right stated.

"True," Flamestrike said."But it's still the best we can come up with."

"He's right," Left Mirage said."This seems to be the only way for me to get out of this situation."

"You mean _me_," the other Mirage retorted, ready to attack.

"Stop right there!" Flamestrike ordered, hands glowing brighter, hoping that Reptile's plan was a good one."As long as we remain calm, no one gets blasted." Both Mirage's obeyed him, albeit reluctantly.

"Now, questioning," Reptile said, taking a deep breath."Is everyone ok with that course of action?"

"Not really, but I'll go along with it," Right Mirage told him.

"Same here," the other one declared, brushing some dirt off of her wings.

"Good," Flamestrike said, taking his cue from Reptile to start questioning the Guardian and her duplicate."Question number one: How old is Mirage?"

"Sixteen, about to be seventeen," both of them replied at almost the same instant.

"Question two: When?" Reptile asked.

"June sixth," Right and Left Mirage answered in unison again, glaring at each other.

"_This isn't working_," Flamestrike whispered to Reptile, voice tense.

"My plan is," he hissed back."Now be ready to fire." To the Mirage's, he stated, "Third question: name the material we constructed our suits out of." Flamestrike got his friends plan then-it was a trick question, one only Reptile knew the answer to, and the one question Mimic would get wrong.

Seeing that his deception was at its end, Mimic revealed himself by vanishing into his own shadow, Flamestrike's energy bolt missing him by a split-second. Reappearing a dozen feet in the air on the shaded side of a building, back in his dragon morph, Mimic attacked, raining fire and energy bolts upon the Guardians, who scattered to avoid his assault. And just like that, the battle was restarted; Flamestrike hurling energy bolts at Mimic from mid-air, Mirage swooping and diving, trying to get close and hit the villain, and Reptile racing to keep up with them as the fight drifted towards downtown.

Finally, after a five block chase/fight, Mimic was forced to the ground, battered, burned, and with one wing twisted at an unnatural angle. But the battle was far from over. Shape-shifting the injuries away, Mimic took the form of Maddog. Changing again, even before Flamestrike and Mirage could land, Mimic became Hydraya, then each of the three Guardians, shifting back and forth from one form to the next before inexplicably settling into his human shape.

Transfixed by this seeming loss of control, the Guardians almost didn't notice the robots...Almost. Mirage spotted movement behind her, and alerted her friends. Mimic's shape-changing had been another trick, allowing at least fifty robots the chance to sneak up on the heroes.

Now, faced with fifty robots and a shape-shifting villain, the three Guardians were faced with their most challenging battle yet. Fifty robots charged at once toward the teen heroes, and Mimic stood on the sidelines, taking pot-shots at them with his Flamestrike-copied energy bolts, expecting the Guardians to be finished quickly.

For a while, chaos ruled. Smashing robots, burning them, dropping them into the shadows to fall forever, the three Guardians fought on, taking shots at Mimic if they got the chance. As the androids numbers dwindled, Mimic joined the battle, trying to separate the heroes, cut them off from supporting each other. But he failed, and soon, only Mimic and the Guardians still stood, a dozen feet apart and ankle deep in broken robot parts.

_Chapter Four: Overview_

"I can't do it," the apprentice whispered to his master through the communicator on his arm."No matter what I try or do, they just won't be beaten."

"You have not followed my orders," the master stated, slowly and calmly, safe and secure in his base."Try harder," he urged."But this time do not rely solely on your power to change shapes. Remember, win now and the city is ours. Fail, and these 'Guardians' may challenge us again." Secretly, the master is surprised at the resilience of this group of teen heroes, but he knows they will fail. Inexperience is their weakness.

"Yes my master," the apprentice replied quickly, shutting off the communicator.

This apprentice showed much promise to his master, just like the two who had preceded him. Perhaps more so, for he'd already started on the path to villain-hood when the man had found him. The others had been too good-hearted, too set in their ways to follow him. Both had defied him, and the second had very nearly cost him his life. But the past was the past, and this new apprentice, this Mimic, was _completely_ loyal to him. He even had his own henchmen, Maddog and Hydraya.

"Third times the charm," Slade grinned to himself beneath his mask, watching as the battle progressed, through the use of a robotic camera about the size and shape of a large spider. He had several dozen of these roaming the city, allowing him to see what was going on anywhere he wanted, at anytime.

On the screen, Mimic reverted to his human form, black armor reappearing as if by magic from within his shifting shape. Pulling a short rod from the suit, the young villain extended it into a staff-like weapon and charged at the Guardians, stick whirling like a helicopter blade.

Reptile took the first hit, a solid _whack! _to the side of his face, hard enough to send him sprawling. Mirage was next, though she had taken to the air and only received a smack to the leg. Flamestrike avoided the weapon entirely, but to his surprise it refused to melt when he blasted it. He wasn't using a full power strike though-he wanted to defeat Mimic, not _kill _him.

By that time Reptile had gotten back to his feet and found that Mimic had his back to him, facing the other Guardians. Roaring, he leapt, only to find himself _hurled_, by the stick, over Mimic's head and into a nearby mailbox. Mirage dove, trying to attack Mimic while he was distracted, but she, too, was sent flying, though her wings kept her airborne. Circling back and snagging Reptile, she rejoined Flamestrike in the air above Mimic.

"Ok...at what point...did we lose...control here?" she asked tiredly, barely able to keep herself and Reptile aloft.

"I don't know," Reptile said, rubbing his shoulder."But that stick _hurts_."

"He knows our weaknesses," Flamestrike said, moments before the three were forced to dodge another barrage of energy bolts and fireballs.

"Any ideas?" Mirage asked Reptile, as Flamestrike returned fire, drawing Mimic's attention.

"We need to change-up our tactics," he answered her."Maybe a combined assault. Hit him from all sides. It just might work."

"Alright," she said, swooping over to Flamestrike, who was taking cover behind a balcony, hovering and sniping at Mimic."On my signal, all of us strike at once," she told him, dropping Reptile, who slid down the side of the building, talons digging into the wall.

"Got it!" he answered, veering away from her.

Seeing his targets split up alerted Mimic to their plan, and he prepared himself for it by moving to the middle of the street, giving him more room to move around. He was glad that he hadn't followed them into the air now. Spotting the attack, Mimic waited until the last possible moment to react. Spinning his stick, he dodged to one side, blasted Flamestrike in the chest with a fireball, then dropped Mirage with his weapon. That left him up against Reptile, the only Guardian who relied solely upon hand-to-hand combat to win a fight. Thus, he was the only one Mimic was truly concerned about.

Nursing their injuries, the other Guardians retreated, as Reptile circled Mimic warily, knowing the danger of that stick and staying well out of reach. This would be a one-on-one fight for them, a fight that Mimic intended to win.

"I have sent reinforcements to distract the others," his masters voice stated over the communicator."Defeat him quickly."

Encouraged by his master and wanting to end things fast, the apprentice charged, responding with actions instead of words. But Reptile ducked his first blow, and he had weapons of his own. Swinging with the force of a sledgehammer, Reptile's tail caught Mimic square in the chest and sent him flying into a parked car, forming a massive dent on its door and shattering the window.

Dazed but not down, the villain avoided the next strike and kicked the Guardian, forcing him back a step and allowing Mimic to get to his feet. To close to one another now to line up a solid blow, the fighters grappled, each trying to gain an advantage over the other.

About a block away, Mirage and Flamestrike fought, the two heroes trapped by what seemed like an endless army of robots. The afternoon sun was shining on them, preventing Mirage the use of her shadow-walking, and Flamestrike was beginning to tire. They were back to back with one another, and the robots just kept coming. Overhead, a news helicopter caught the entire scene and relayed the chaos back to its station, which broadcast it live, covering the invasion of Vaco Bay.

Meanwhile...across the country, on an island off the coast of a similar city, in a tower shaped like a 'T', a green boy wearing a black and purple one piece outfit was casually channel-surfing on a giant screen t.v. when he saw the catastrophe. His name is Beast Boy, and he is a member of a superhero team called the Teen Titans.

Led by Robin, the team is composed of five members: Robin, martial arts master and their leader, Beast Boy, the boy who can become any animal he wishes, though he is always green, Cyborg, half robot but all hero, Raven, with her magic, and Starfire, the alien with incredible strength and powers.(Authors note: Since most people know what the Teen Titans look like and what they can do, I'm not going to go into detail describing them here.)

"He's back," Beast Boy said, pointing at the screen after sounding the alarm. The robots were unmistakable, and the villain they had thought long gone had returned.

"Where?" Robin demanded. He had been an unwilling apprentice to the monster whose machines were now terrorizing a city. To his knowledge, the first of only two.

"Vaco Bay," Beast Boy said."I don't know-"

"That's on the other side of the country," Cyborg interrupted, voice low.

"I don't care," Robin told him."We're going."

"I'll ready the T-ship," Cyborg answered, hurrying away. Stopping suddenly, he turned and asked,"Wasn't there a team there?" He remembered hearing something about new teenage heroes, but he wasn't sure where they had been.

"There was," Raven answered, voice grave."But obviously, they've been defeated. There were only three-"

"Look!" Starfire cried, drawing their attention back to the screen.

From the circling helicopters view of the city, the image was suddenly magnified, centering on two figures down among the robots, trashing and smashing for their lives. Further away, a person wearing armor similar to the machines faced off against a reptilian beast. Taking in the larger view of things, the Titans could see that it was a near hopeless battle for the three heroes. A stray energy beam of some kind suddenly forced the chopper to veer away, fleeing the area instead of continuing to film.

"Titans, Go!" Robin shouted, rallying his team and hoping that they could get there in time to save the heroes who were fighting so valiantly to liberate Vaco Bay...

Avoiding another blow from Mimic's weapon, Reptile lashed out, his claws raking Mimic's chest and leaving four jagged lines across his armor, though the villain himself seemed unharmed. Retaliating, Mimic tripped the hero with a kick to the knee, knocking him to the ground. Reptile rolled immediately, Mimic's staff weapon crashing into the dirt just inches from the young hero. Whipping his tail around, Reptile hooked the villains foot and pulled him off his feet. Rising, the combatants squared off again, circling each other warily a few times before attacking. This time Mimic landed the first blow, but Reptile quickly recovered from it, dodging the next strike and counter-attacking, once again using his tail to send Mimic crashing to the ground.

Down the street, with the robots, Flamestrike and Mirage were being pushed to their limits. Mirage, unable to find enough shade to shadow-walk, could barely hold the machines at bay, using her wings to get air and lauch powerful kicks and punches at them. Flamestrike on the other hand, was tiring quickly, and though his energy bolts melted and slagged the robots easily, there always seemed to be more to destroy. Still, the heroes continued to fight, unwilling to give up. The Guardians would save Vaco Bay from the madman who'd taken it from them, or die trying.

Surprised again by the Guardians resilience and determination, the madman in question began to fortify his defenses, recalling the robots that weren't fighting and using them to guard his base of action. These young heroes had gone from being an annoyance to a real threat. He knew that he couldn't simply commit all of his resources to crushing the heroes-he wouldn't have any warriors left to secure his victory. So, he subtly began to pull them back, a few dozen at a time, massing his forces together. Knowing that they might still be of use to him despite their failures, he pressed a button and assigned a group of robots the task of freeing Hydraya and Maddog.

"Mimic to base, do you read me?" his apprentice asked over the radio link, shaking him from his thoughts.

"Report," he ordered, his voice monotonous and eerie.

"Reptile is on the run: do I pursue?" the apprentice asked, sounding out of breath though he was obviously trying to keep pace with the hero.

"No," he commanded, after a moments thought. This 'Reptile' had fought his student to a standstill, even after all he had taught Mimic."Go and free your friends-the Guardians trapped them inside their vehicle. I will finish this, myself."

"And after that, sir?" Mimic asked.

"Patrol," he said."Armed forces may arrive soon, perhaps even other heroes. We must be ready for them."

"Yes, master," Mimic stated, ending the communication.

"Retreat!" Reptile bellowed, having abandoned his fight with Mimic, unable to best him."Guardians, fall back!" he yelled, hoping they could hear him over the noises of their battle.

Scaling a building to avoid running into more robots, Reptile paused, wondering why Mimic had stopped chasing him. That thought died however as a wave of exhaustion hit the teen hero, _hard_. During the fight, pure adrenaline had kept him standing, but now, that energy was gone, and Reptile felt as if he'd been hit by a truck. But he had to keep moving. Struggling to his feet, the Guardian raced across the rooftops, headed for the edge of the city, and the forest beyond. They could hide there, and be safe.

Having heard Reptile's cry, the two Guardians fought harder than ever, making their way towards an alley that was cloaked in shade-an escape route for them. Once there, Mirage grabbed Flamestrike and shadow-walked them to the Vaco Bay hospital, to patch up their various injuries. Located near the edge of town, the hospital had easily been evacuated without incident, but most of the bandages and other supplies were still there. Once done, Mirage transported them to their agreed upon meeting place in the forest. The Guardians had planned ahead well, and chosen a strategic spot in the woods to stay. They had found a dry stream bed, and chosen a spot near a rocky overhang, with stone and dirt walls protecting their backs and one side. No one would know they were there unless they were right on top of the teenage heroes.

Reptile wasn't there at the meeting place, though he'd had plenty of time to arrive. That worried the two Guardians, though they knew better than to try contacting him-the noise from their communicators, while not loud, could be enough to get him into trouble.

Night had fallen during their retreat, revealing that the Guardians had been trying to save Vaco Bay for most of the day. That meant that, as well as being tired and hurt, Flamestrike and Mirage were hungry too. Reptile, however, could merely be tired and hungry, since his regenerative capabilities would have healed him by now.

Weakened, hungry, hurt and tired, the two Guardians waited for Reptile to arrive, Flamestrike lighting a small fire while Mirage slipped away into the shadows, returning with food raided from a nearby store. Both of them were scared, they openly admitted it, but neither were ready to give up. This surprised the teenage heroes-that they weren't ready to give in despite how far they had fallen-having been reduced to hiding out in the woods, their home literally blown off the face of the earth, and Vaco Bay invaded by a supervillains robotic army.

Meanwhile, stopped mid-way on his journey to rejoin his friends by a large force of robots, Reptile hid from view, only to watch as they raced by, oblivious. Intrigued, he followed them at a safe distance. Where are they headed? he asked himself, sprinting from shadow to dark alley to dumpster, keeping out of sight.

Reptile's question was answered as he rounded a street corner. Blind-sided, the hero was knocked flat on his back by a black-suited opponent wearing a split-faced mask, black on one side and copper on the other. The mask was already odd, but what made it creepy was the fact that there was only one eyehole, on the copper side.

"Come now, Guardian," the man said."If you're able to fight my apprentice to a standstill, surely you aren't this easy to defeat."

"Who are you?" Reptile snarled, rising and taking a defensive stance, teeth bared.

"Wouldn't you like to know," the man taunted, voice eerily calm as he charged forward unexpectedly, a metal staff not unlike Mimic's weapon appearing in his hands as if by magic.

Amazingly, Reptile dodged the man's first swing, but the backswing caught him in the face, sending the hero crashing to the ground again. Whipping his tail up and over his exposed back, Reptile barely managed to block a stick strike that could have easily broken his ribs. But Mimic's master was _fast_, and the brutal kick to Reptile's mid-section seemed to come out of nowhere.

"Is this the best you can do?" the masked man mocked, sending him rolling across the ground with another painfully precise kick to the ribs. "I must say I am rather _un_impressed. You 'Guardians' really are pathetic."

"Are we?" Reptile rasped."You don't seem to be rid of us yet, despite what, three tries now? Four?" That sarcasm fetched the hero another devastating kick to the ribs.

"You are sadly mistaken if you believe that you can defeat me," the masked man said calmly, watching Reptile struggle to his feet."This city is _mine_, and there is _nothing_ that you can do about it," he added, complete confidence in his voice.

"Not yet!" Reptile cried, charging at the villain unexpectedly, fury giving him the strength to attack.

Apparently thinking that this fight was over, the villain was caught off-guard by Reptile's attack, and found himself at the mercy of the Guardian. But that didn't last. Fending off the hero with a series of karate moves and almost superhuman speed, the masked man felt his wounded shoulder, where Reptile's claws had sunk in, deeply.

Pushed to his limits and utterly spent, Reptile was barely able to stand when his sensitive nose caught the scent of blood. Buried deep in the primitive part of the heroes brain, long dormant instincts came awake, and directed him to respond. And respond Reptile did. Acting as a large predator would, he instinctively crouched, his eyes and senses homed in on his foes injury. Reptile found that he wasn't exhausted anymore, and circled his opponent, slipping onto all fours, his eyes shining in the glow of the street lights.

Catching this obvious change in Reptile's behavior, the masked man watched cautiously as he circled, a low growl coming from the Guardian. The attack came swiftly, and with such ferocity that the villain was forced to retreat out of the wide street and into a narrow alley, protecting his sides and forcing Reptile to fight him head on. Roaring mightily, Reptile accepted the challenge and steadily beat his opponent back, his moves unpredictable and animalistic.

Unable to fend off the enraged Guardian, the villain was forced to run, retreating out the other side of the alley. Having been bested in combat only a select few times, he is astonished that this inexperienced young hero has succeeded in driving him off. Seconds later, he is even more shocked to find that the exhausted hero is actually giving chase, and closing the gap between them. Plucking a special smoke bomb from his pocket, the villain tossed it behind him and, while Reptile was blinded by the smoke, finally escaped.

Furious that his enemy had gotten away, Reptile raised up onto his feet and howled, venting his frustration into the night sky. Blocks away by now, the masked man nevertheless heard the Guardians roar, and knew, deep down in his cold, black heart that this foe was on equal footing with him, a real rarity, and one that might cost him dearly.

With no further challenges to his might, Reptile slowly regained control over his instincts, battling the urge to hunt down his wounded adversary. Had he been hungry, Reptile didn't know if he could've stopped himself from tracking down and killing the masked man-as a predator does with wounded prey. He had known that one day these primitive instincts would influence him, as he had in essence become a large, carnivorous animal, but he hadn't expected them to affect him this strongly. The good part was that he had a newfound understanding on what his senses were telling him-the bad was that many of those senses screamed out '_eat this_!' or '_hunt that_!' 'that' being a stray cat or dog.

Hearing the strange roar, Mimic Maddog, and Hydraya, who had resumed her human form after being freed, went back to back, looking around nervously. Patrolling behind them, the group of robots who had freed Maddog and Hydraya stopped and assumed defensive positions.

"What was _that_?" Hydraya asked, ready to shift shape at a moments notice.

"I think it was Reptile," Mimic said worriedly."And he sounded angry."

"That's because I just lost him," his master stated, seeming to appear out of nowhere, a white bandage around his arm where the hero had clawed him."I must admit, my apprentice, that I underestimated these 'Guardians.' It is a mistake I will not make again. Come," he ordered, walking away from the group."We will rest, and plan out our next move, then we will destroy these heroes. permanently."

"We must rest and regroup," Mimic stated."A tired man makes a poor warrior," he added, quoting one of the many lessons Slade had taught him. Together, the four villains hurried off to their base of action, knowing that victory is well within their grasp. Three days ago, they had conquered a city, and, despite the resistance of the Guardians, they had kept it.

_Chapter Five: Delusions_

Reptile rejoined his fellow Guardians during the night, but refused to rouse them from their sleep-in Mirage's case, an accidental slumber, for she had been keeping watch and giving Flamestrike a chance to rest. Instead, after scanning the area for threats and stoking the small fire his friends had made, Reptile took up a position in a nearby tree, keeping watch and helping himself to some of the food his friends had gathered. Then he dozed, his new instincts waking him every time something rustled in the bushes.

Waking completely after a particularly bold rabbit hopped through their campsite, Reptile turned his thoughts to the fight he had with the split-masked man, wondering what he had done wrong, how he failed to defeat him. His instincts scream for him to hunt down his foe this instant, but rational thought wins out, and the Guardian slips off into slumber again.

As the night goes on, violence rules over the heroes dreams, carnage that he himself causes, over and over again, against friend and foe alike. More than once Reptile is disturbed out of his sleep by these nightmares, the first ones he's had for a _long _time. Jolted out of his sleep again by another bad dream just before dawn, Reptile decided to stay awake, for this nightmare had been particularly violent.

In his dream, Reptile was back in the city, fighting alongside his fellow Guardians against some shapeless enemy. Unexpectedly, Mirage gets in the way of his claws. Blood flows, and the scent burns like fire as he catches it. Time seems to stand still, as Reptile sees himself turn on his friends, savaging them with brutal ferocity. Flamestrike tries to intervene, but the enraged monster Reptile has become swats him aside like a bug. Hands suddenly grip his shirt from behind, and Reptile realizes that Mirage has him as the world suddenly goes dark. She has taken him into the shadows, and before emerging, her hands release him into the void, to fall forever in the darkness.

Shaken by the nightmare, Reptile remains in his tree until just after sunrise. Then, as his friends begin to awaken, he leaves, racing deeper into the forest. The Guardian cannot face them yet, not after killing them a dozen times over in his nightmares. Trailing him, unseen and unnoticed as he runs, is a small helicopter-like machine, with a stylized 'S' printed on its side.

"Is it working?" Mimic asked his master. Standing beside his masters chair in a darkened control room, he is alone, for Maddog and Hydraya aren't privileged enough to know what is being said between master and apprentice.

"Yes, my apprentice," Slade replied, watching the Guardian struggle against the hallucinogenic drug hidden in the smoke bomb he had used against him a day earlier. "It is working. Soon, Reptile won't be able to tell dream from reality, and _he _will destroy the Guardians for us," he added slowly.

"And then Vaco Bay will be ours," Mimic stated, overjoyed at this news. Months before he had gained a master, Mimic had sworn to take over this city, and now he has full-filled that vow."You are cunning, my master."

"That remains to be seen," he stated, nevertheless smiling beneath his mask."But this plan _is _rather brilliant," he admitted, returning his attention to the screens.

In the forest, Reptile plunges deeper into his delusions, tearing through the woods like a stampeding rhino. Through his eyes, he is in a vast jungle now, where monsters leap out at him at every turn. Forest creatures flee before him, lest they suffer the same fate as the monsters within the Guardians head-to be savaged and torn to pieces by the deranged hero. Driven onwards by Slade's toxin, Reptile runs even faster, seeking an escape from the phantoms in his mind.

Battling imaginary fiends, fighting invisible beasts, Reptile is taken by surprise when Mirage and Flamestrike suddenly appeared ahead of him. Skidding to a stop, the Guardian found himself back in the woods around Vaco Bay, his sanity momentarily returned to him.

"What's chasing you Reptile?!" Mirage asked worriedly, wings spread and ready to propel her skyward at a moments notice."When we flew over, we didn't see anything."

"Hey man, are you ok?" Flamestrike asked, seeing the confusion on his friends reptilian face.

"I...I don't know," Reptile stated, glancing around nervously, scanning the tree line for movement."I...there were monsters in the woods back there, chasing me."

"We didn't see anything," Flamestrike said, repeating Mirage."And we've been following you for at least a quarter-mile or more."

"How could you miss them?!" Reptile snarled, his sanity retreating."They were _everywhere_. Ahead of me behind me, in the trees and on the ground. How could you not _see _them?" He demanded, ranting and sounding paranoid.

Flamestrike, knowing now that something was terribly wrong with his friend, took a few steps back from Reptile, just to be safe. Sinking swiftly back into his delusions, Reptile's eyes glazed over, and he dropped onto all fours, ready to run or fight, under the control of the toxins again. The jungle returned with its monsters, this time a giant bat and a being made of fire.

"What's happening to you?" Mirage started to ask, only to have the out of control Guardian roar and charge at her unexpectedly.

Escaping into the sky along with Flamestrike, Mirage watched as Reptile, foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog, loped off into the forest, clawing at trees and sometimes nothing at all. Following their friend at a safe altitude, the two Guardians watched as he sank further into his madness. Reptile would stand and claw and fight nothing at all, then dash away in a random direction and do it again, fighting shadows.

Through Reptile's eyes, the two jungle monsters followed him from the sky as he battled lesser beasts on the ground. The bat and the fire creature were dangerous and had to be destroyed, though Reptile didn't quite know how he knew that. Half-sane, half-mad, he roared, trying to really stop and _think_ about what he is doing. Scored and injured many times by his foes, the Guardian strangely feels no pain, nor can he smell any blood or other scents from his attackers. Though he doesn't know it, the heroes reptilian immune system is fighting against the hallucinogen in his blood. That is why he is falling in and out of sanity, and how he knows that something just isn't right about this endless stream of enemies. He should be able to smell them, see them coming before they attack, and his wounds should hurt.

"What's _wrong _with him?" Mirage asked Flamestrike, tears in her eyes as she watched Reptile roar and slash at _nothing_.

"I don't know," he replied, disturbed as he and Mirage landed on the upper branches of a tree."But I have a feeling that we know who has an answer to that question."

"Mimic," she said, her voice dark with hate."But we can't leave Reptile alone out here. Not in this condition. He could hurt himself."

"I don't think we have a choice," Flamestrike stated."We can't help him until we know what's wrong with him, and the only way to do that is to leave him here and face Mimic," he added, taking off from the tree and hovering.

"We can't be in two places at once," Mirage agreed sadly, following him into the sky."At least out here he isn't a danger to anyone else."

Reptile, in the middle of killing yet another beast in the vicious jungle in his mind, saw the bat and the fire creature leave out of the corner of his eye. In his shattered mind, instincts take over. Running things are things that needed to be chased, he decided. But before he can act on his instincts, the bat grabbed the fire creature and disappeared, fading into the shadow of a passing cloud. Still unnoticed, the spy machine continues to observe him.

"Something is wrong," Slade said to his apprentice, watching the screens."Reptile should have attacked them on sight."

"Could he have figured out how to ignore the hallucinogens?" Mimic asked his master, puzzled."Is that possible?"

"No," Slade said slowly."Not with the amount he inhaled it's not."

"Then how?.." Mimic began to ask, only to be silenced by a murderous look from his master.

"Nevermind that. The Guardians are coming here in search of the antidote. Alert Maddog and Hydraya," Slade ordered."This ends _now,_" he whispered to himself. More loudly, he asked,"Has my shipment arrived?"

"Yes, my master," Mimic stated, having stopped on his way out the door."The laser pistols are already being distributed among your robots. All will be armed within the hour."

"Good," he replied, smiling beneath his mask."Now go. Join Maddog and Hydraya and tell them that this battle will be the end for the Guardians, once and for all."

Wordlessly, his apprentice left. Rising from his throne-like chair, Slade switched off the monitors in the room and left to oversee the preparations for himself. Heroes are so troublesome, he thought, following his apprentice, though Mimic did not notice him. The boy is doing well, but plenty of training remains for him, Slade thought to himself. This fight will either make or break the young villain, that much is certain. Pressing a button on his belt, Slade activated the master control for his robots and commanded his forces to gather at their base. All over the city, thousands of robots drop what they are doing to obey their master.

All, except five. These five follow a different leader, and, on his signal, they slip away from the others and regroup in the city mall. Three of them are almost identical to all the others in the city, but the fourth is quite a bit smaller and the fifth is twice normal size. The Teen Titans are in Vaco Bay.

"That never should have worked," Cyborg stated immediately, once they were clear of the real robots.

"It worked because we've never done that before," Raven answered, as they started removing their disguises.

"Deception is Slade's game, not ours," Robin said, removing his robot head."And Raven has a point-we've never tried using his tactics before. Now, report."

"I have searched everywhere, but there is no sign of this city's protectors," Starfire told him sadly.

"Their place's been blown up, big time," Beast Boy added grimly.

"I managed to slip inside Slade's base of action," Raven said slowly."He's made at least five thousand robots so far, and there are three creatures helping him."

"Did you recognize them?" Robin asked, wondering if Slade had managed to free some of his old henchmen from jail.

"No," she said, voice dark."These are new. And I believe that Slade has chosen one of them to be his apprentice."

"What?!" Robin, Cyborg and the others all cried out. Slade having a new apprentice was the worst sort of news.

"Who is it Raven? Do you know?" Starfire asked.

"I don't know," she replied."But, from what I overheard, he was after this city even before Slade showed up."

"Cyborg, you've been quiet," Robin asked, trying not to remember the short time he was forced to be Slade's apprentice."Do you have anything to report?"

"Not much," he said, his human eye staring as coldly as his red, robotic one."If we had gotten here when all the fighting was going on things would be different now. This city never stood a chance against Slade."

Seconds after he said that, a violent explosion rocked Vaco Bay, and the sounds of laser fire soon followed.

"Then again, I could be wrong," Cyborg added sheepishly, as a second blast boomed in the distance.

"Titans, Go!" Robin commanded, sprinting towards the sounds of battle.

Meanwhile, at the site of the blasts, Flamestrike torched yet another robot aiming a laser weapon at him. He and Mirage had forced their way inside their enemies base of action, accidentally setting off a propane tank in the process. The second explosion had been on purpose though-Flamestrike blasting the doors open. As the doors were big enough to admit a large truck into the former warehouse, the explosion was quite large, and easily heard throughout the city.

Now, he and Mirage were in a firefight with the hundred or so robots that had guarded that entrance. Laser fire was everywhere as Flamestrike dodged back and forth through the air, returning fire if and when he got the chance. Meanwhile, using the darkness within the large warehouse that was Mimic's base, Mirage disappeared from one place to another, punching and kicking robots, sometimes grabbing one and leaving it in the shadows to fall forever in the darkness. The interior lights, which would have doomed her instantly, seemed to have been destroyed in the blast that opened the door.

Still, more robots poured out of the building despite their efforts, and the two Guardians knew that the odds were stacked against them. That is, until Reptile bounded onto the scene. His advanced healing abilities had pulled through for him, and purged the hallucinogen from his system. But that did nothing to extinguish the fury in his eyes as he plowed into the robot swarm, surging forth like a tidal wave and tossing androids left and right.

A moment later and he was directly beneath Flamestrike and Mirage, shredding robots so violently that a clearing was formed around him and in his wake. Roaring madly, a single swing of Reptile's tail shattered a robot in two as he moved deeper into the entrance of Mimic's base.

"Come on!" he bellowed, seeing his friends hesitate."_We end this now!_"

Catching Reptile's eye, Flamestrike saw sanity there, and followed his friend further into the building, Mirage right behind him. Once away from the door, the two airborne Guardians were forced to land as they entered a series of hallways inside the building. Unexpectedly, from both in front and behind, robots poured into view, firing their laser guns indiscriminately. Caught in the crossfire, the Guardians seemed doomed when Reptile suddenly attacked one of the walls, smashing through like a wrecking ball. In less than a second, the heroes were gone.

With no Guardians between them, most of the androids ended up destroying their fellows before they could stop firing and follow their targets. Hindered by the closed-in area, only a few survived, but dozens more were already on their way. And hundreds lurked further inside the building, signifying its size. One a distribution and shipping outlet for a major corporation, the warehouse is massive, containing dozens of rooms.

"Ok, I think we lost them," Flamestrike said quietly, melting the door shut. He and the other Guardians had fled deeper into the building, and had entered another section of hallways. Doors lined this section of the building, opening into empty office rooms."And Reptile?"

"Yeah?" he asked, already scouting ahead in the darkened hallway, looking into each room. Flamestrike's blast must've cut power to the whole building somehow.

"I'm glad you're back," he said, as they approached a turn in the hall.

"Glad to be back," he stated, still shaken a little by the incident.

"Um, guys, I hate to break up our little reunion, but we've got company!" Mirage pointed out, as several dozen robots rounded the bend in the corridor.

"This way!" Reptile shouted, darting through a doorway just as the robots opened fire.

Rather than chance being shot, Mirage grabbed Flamestrike and vanished, taking them just inside the door and out of harms way. Unfazed by his relocation, Flamestrike lobbed an energy bolt out and around the doorway, melting an arm off one robot and completely incinerating another. Learning machines, the androids took cover, expecting the heroes to stand and fight. Instead, the Guardians used the opportunity to slip away, Reptile digging up through the roof and into the second floor of the building. Their target was not the robots, but the villains controlling them.

Slowly but surely, growing ever more angry, the heroes penetrated deeper into their enemies base, destroying robots, traps, and other, stranger weaponry as they battled forth. Hydraya appeared, as well as Maddog, but they were soon sent running by the half-crazed protectors of Vaco Bay.

Eyes blazing as white-hot as his energy bolts, Flamestrike advanced, fiendish smoke rising from his hands, a testament to his power. Mirage, her eyes cold and black, followed by his side, disappearing and reappearing like some sinister phantom, half-cloaked by her wings and the darkness of the buildings interior. Ahead of them, the spear point of their triangle, was Reptile. Enraged and following his instincts, he loped along on all fours, savaging his enemies like some beast born of wicked thoughts and terrible nightmares. For the Guardians, the world had narrowed to this battle, to the here and now of strike and counterstrike, evade and pursue, act and react. Past and future vanished, ceased to exist in their minds, leaving room for only one task-accomplish what they came here to do: stop the villains and save the city.

From his secure room at the heart of the building, Slade and his apprentice watched as the Guardians advanced, completely unaware that they were being herded. Yes, the had almost escaped twice, but now everything was back in order. Soon, the teenage heroes would encounter a large, locked door, and mistake it for their goal. They would force their way in, never realizing until its too late that the door led into the main supply area of the warehouse-a vast room where Slade had positioned nearly a thousand of his robots, weapons ready to fire. The heroes would be destroyed before they even knew what hit them. Smiling beneath his mask, Slade watched, waiting for the inevitable.

"I've won," he whispered to himself as the Guardians neared the door.

_Chapter Six: Unexpected Assistance_

"Why does it always have to be a dark and creepy building?" Beast Boy wondered aloud, as the Titans entered the hallways of Slade's base, following the trail of wreckage the Guardians had left behind.

"Because Slade is a dark and creepy guy," Raven answered, slightly annoyed. "Now be quiet-I didn't sneak us past a hundred robots just to have _you _announce that we're here."

"These guys sure know how to fight," Cyborg whispered, looking at a headless android that had been thrown against a wall, leaving an impressive dent."Are we sure there's only _three _of 'em?"

"Yes," Starfire answered, a green ball of alien energy held in her hand to light the way. "But I, too, am amazed at the amount of damage they have caused. On my world they would be considered great warriors."

"I don't like this," Robin said, pointing at a hole in the wall, and the large pile of broken androids heaped around it."Cyborg? Is anything showing up on your sensors?"

"Nothing man," he replied, after looking at his arm for a moment."I got zip. Who-ever they are, they're _way _ahead of us."

"At least they're easy to follow," Beast Boy joked."Don't have to be a blood-hound to know they went this way," he added, indicating the hole.

"Let's move," Robin stated, clearly not amused.

Silent now, the Teen Titans followed the trail of the Guardians deeper and deeper into Slade's base. Several times, the wreckage clearly revealed which way they should go, and clues as to the types of superpowers the Guardians possessed. Melted and slagged robots indicated that at least one of the heroes had some sort of energy weapon, while tooth and claw marks stated that another was beast-like in capabilities.

"One of them can teleport," Raven said cryptically as they entered another section of hallways, with more dead androids scattered here and there.

"How do you know that?" Cyborg asked her.

"I can _sense _it," she replied, just moments before one of the trashed androids unexpectedly rose to its feet and started running, its head tilted at an unnatrual angle and completely missing one arm.

"Get it!" Robin yelled as the machine raced to alert its comrades.

"Got it!" Cyborg shouted, his arm transforming into his sonic cannon. One short blast finished off the wrecked robot.

"Dude!" Beast Boy exclaimed, congratulating Cyborg for his quick thinking and good aim. Since 'dude' was one of Beast Boy's favorite words, it had many meanings, including 'good job,' 'look out!' and 'come here, quick!'

Distracted by the robot and now checking every smashed android they came across to be sure it was off-line, the Titans moved on, not knowing that they were walking into a trap.

"Whoa," Cyborg said, halting the group as he consulted the scanning devices built into his arm."I got movement." They had entered another large room, full of smashed up boxes and more broken robots.

"Location?" Robin asked, drawing the collapsible bo staff that was a part of his weaponry.

"I'm having trouble tracking it," he admitted, turning to face one direction, only to turn back and face the other way."But it's _alive_, and it's _not_ one of us."

"Come on Cy, give us a target," Robin muttered as he and his team went back to back, protecting each other and taking defensive stances."Raven?"

"I can't sense anything except for us," she replied, knowing his question."Beast Boy, see if you can track it."

In response, the green Titan demonstrated his ability and shape-shifted into the form of a hound dog. Nose to the floor, he sniffed around for a few moments before giving a frustrated growl and resuming his humanoid form.

"Dude, all I smell is us," he stated."Cyborg, are you sure your scanning gizmos are working right, 'cause I got nothing."

"Positive," he said, trying to get a lock on the target."But the signal's weird, man. It's like this thing is all around us." In response to that, Starfire made her hand glow brighter, giving the Titans more light.

"More than one?" Robin asked, ready to fight.

"No, whatever it is, it's a single creature, somehow," Cyborg told him, confused by his own equipment."I don't-"

That's when the attack came, a tremendous blast of water that slammed Cyborg into a wall. Turning to face their enemy, the Titans saw...nothing. Other than smashed crates and busted androids, they appeared to be alone.

"Cyborg?" Starfire asked, helping him up.

"I'm ok," he told her, his sonic cannon making a second appearance.

"What is this thing?" Robin demanded, voice tense, though he was relieved that his friend was alright.

"And _where _is it?" Raven stated, ready to use her magics to shield herself from their attacker, lurking in the darkness.

"I don't know," Cyborg stated, answering both of them, arm raised and ready to fire."But I _don't _like it."

"There!" Starfire yelled suddenly, throwing one of her starbolts into the darkness of the room. When nothing else happened, she looked back at her friends and added, slightly confused,"Something moved."

Before anyone could say anything else, a blast of water returned from the direction Starfire shot at, catching Beast Boy in the face and knocking him over. Starfire, who had dodged out-of-the-way, answered the attack with a volley of starbolts while Robin checked on Beast Boy. Cyborg joined the assault with both sonic cannons firing into the darkness, as Raven, chanting the words 'Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos,' hurled boxes and broken robots at their unseen enemy. They hit _nothing_, but an angry shriek answered the Titans attack.

Meanwhile, in another part of the building, the Guardians heard the commotion and stopped in their tracks, sure that this was some new assault from their enemies. Flamestrike, acting as a flashlight for his friends, aimed his glowing hand back the way they had come, in the direction of the noise.

"That doesn't sound good," Reptile stated, his golden eyes glinting in the light. "Explosions of some kind."

"Should we see what it is?" Flamestrike asked quietly, as the noises persisted, though they didn't seem to be getting closer.

"Of course," Mirage replied, wings spread despite the fact that she couldn't fly in such an enclosed space."If it's robots setting up some sort of trap, I can shadow-walk us back here and lose 'em in a split second."

"Then we're agreed," Reptile stated, as the teen heroes cautiously headed back they way they had came."Let's see what's going on."

Back in the room, the Titans were being hammered by their still unseen foe, who could evidently move faster than they could aim. Somehow, they had gotten lured into the middle of the room, and the creature they were fighting had shut the doors, trapping the teenage heroes inside.

"We can't take much more of this," Raven said, her voice strained as she shielded her friends from yet another blast of water with her magic. Each of the Titans had been hit at least once by the powerful torrents, and Raven knew that multiple strikes could very well drown them.

"I know," Robin stated."But that thing has sealed the exits," he added, as Cyborg and Starfire returned fire, though they quickly stopped once it was clear that they hadn't hit anything, again.

"Is it gone?" Starfire asked cautiously, after a few moments had passed. Thier foe hadn't returned fire yet, and the room was silent, aside from the sound of water dripping from the drenched heroes.

"Um, Robin?" Beast Boy asked.

"What is it Beast Boy?" he demanded, watching warily for another attack.

"We have a problem," he said, pointing down at the water beginning to pool around their feet.

"Well, that's not good," Cyborg commented, seconds before their assailant resumed its attacks, jets of water forcing the Titans to seek cover.

"Raven, Starfire, we need an exit. The rooms flooding!" Robin said quickly, dodging another strike.

"On it," Raven stated, focusing her powers on the blocked doorway.

"I shall distract the creature," Starfire said, flinging her starbolts into the darkness, momentarily lighting up a glimpse of the creature, which was snake-like in shape.

"So will I," Cyborg agreed, his mechanical shoulders opening up and firing off several rockets into the gloom.

After a moment, the door crumpled inward and was ripped off its hinges by Raven's magic.

"Titans, move!" Robin ordered."We can't fight this thing in here-this room is a trap!" he added as they abandoned the fight and sprinted towards the door.

Seconds before reaching the exit, Robin was tackled by the snake creature and dragged into the darkness. The attack was so swift that none of the Titans could have possibly stopped it.

"Robin!" Starfire cried, flying off into the dark after him.

"Starfire, no!" Cyborg yelled, trying to stop her from separating from the group-the absolute worst thing to do in a situation like this. But she was gone."Starfire!"

Left in the dark, Cyborg activated his shoulder-mounted spotlight, which flipped up into place, electronics sparking a little from their attackers watery assaults. Scared, Beast Boy let out a yipe and quickly got beside Cyborg, while Raven remained rooted in place, afraid and stunned that two of her closest friends might be gone.

"Are they?" Beast Boy asked, peering into the darkness.

"I'm trying to lock onto their signals," Cyborg replied. Each Titan had a transmitter implanted in their clothing somewhere, in theory allowing the others to find them if they were lost."So far, I got zip. This buildings creating some sort of interference that's messin' with my equipment. Raven?"

"They're alive," she said, trying to focus. Raven's powers were driven by her emotions, and loss of emotional control or strong emotions caused her to lose control of her magics."I can't sense anything other than that though."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cyborg stated, fiddling with his arm and scanning for the missing Titans again."Nevermind-I got something. This way," he stated, pointing to his left.

Quickly, before they could be left behind, the remaining Titans followed Cyborg back into the chamber. Once inside the room, which the Titans now realized was almost the size of the hanger for their T-Ship, they stuck close to Cyborg, close to the light.

"What is it Cyborg?" Raven asked, following her friends deeper into the room, ready to shield them if that snake thing returned.

"I've got a lock on Robin," he replied, quickening his pace."He's close."

"What about Starfire?" she asked."Anything?"

"My scanner is damaged. I can only look for one signal at a time...snake-thing got me good with that last water strike," he replied, concentrating on his equipment."Hey Robin, where are you!?" he yelled unexpectedly, startling Beast Boy.

"Dude, don't do that!" he told him, shaking."I'm spooked enough already."

"Look out!" Raven cried, shielding herself and her friends with her magic against a destructive blast of water."It's back!"

"It's close," Cyborg stated, as they took cover behind some crates."And I'm finally getting some info on it."

"Talk later," Raven declared, shielding them again from another strike."Where is it?!"

"It's using the drains in the floor," Cyborg told her, giving Raven a target.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," she chanted, her magic collapsing the pipes under the floor and driving their foe to the surface.

Screaming in rage, the snake-creature emerged almost nose to nose with the Titans, who reacted appropriately, sending magic, claws and weaponry at the thing. At least some of their attacks struck the snake-thing, but most sailed right through its body, almost as if-

"It's made of _water_," Cyborg announced, as the thing retreated from their onslaught.

"I know," said a soaked Robin from above them, hanging from Starfire's hand as she lowered him to the ground. Both Titans, though wet, appeared unharmed.

"And you can't defeat me," the monster said, unexpectedly appearing in front of them. In Cyborg's spotlight, it was revealed to be a snake-woman, not a mindless beast. "My name is Hydraya, and you should surrender now, while you have the chance."

"Don't count on it," Robin told her."Titans, attack!"

Again the battle was renewed, and again the Teen Titans were outmatched by Hydraya. Nothing seemed to work against her, not even physical attacks, which either bounced off or sailed right through her watery form. At some point during the fight, a large, ape-like being joined in against the heroes, battling Beast Boy and Cyborg while Raven, Starfire and Robin fought Hydraya. Maddog.

"This shouldn't be happening," Cyborg stated, picking himself up after being thrown by the ape-thing."We're getting our butts kicked by Slade's goons."

"We have to fall back," Robin agreed reluctantly.

"But how?" Starfire asked, throwing starbolt after starbolt at Hydraya, though the snake-like villainess seemed unaffected by her powers."They are blocking the way out!"

"And I can't concentrate and block their fire at the same time," Raven added, using her magic to shield them from another powerful blast of water."Else we'd be out of here already."

"We need help," Beast Boy stated, before turning into a green gorilla and throwing a box at their enemies.

Hearing this cry for help despite the noises of battle, the Guardians sprang into action, charging into the room. Reptile, spotting Maddog, raced forward, roaring mightily as he collided with the red-furred beast. Vanishing only to reappear beside Hydraya, Mirage punched the villainess and took to the air as Hydraya predictably began trying to shoot her down with blasts of water.

"Did I hear someone call for help?" Flamestrike announced theatrically, throwing his white-hot energy bolts at the snake-woman.

Joining forces without even knowing each other's names, the Teen Titans and the Guardians of Vaco Bay attacked; Reptile, Robin, Cyborg and Beast Boy against Maddog, while Raven, Flamestrike, Mirage and Starfire took on Hydraya. Needless to say, the fight quickly became one-sided. Driven back by martial arts, green animals, a half-robotic man and a lizard, Maddog retreated, racing out the door and into maze-like hallways of the building. Faced with Flamestrike's white-hot energy bolts, alien powers, _real_ magic, and a disappearing/reappearing foe, Hydraya ran, or rather, slithered away, plunging into an undamaged section of piping to escape. And, just like that, the fight was over.

"There's no way we'll find them in this mess," Reptile stated, indicating the vastness of the building and the cluttered junk within it."I say we concentrate on finding their leader-get this done and over with."

"He's right," Robin agreed, along with the rest of his team.

"This room was just another trap, nothing more, nothing less," Raven added, using her magics to dry their soaked clothing.

"And it's not over yet!" Flamestrike cried, spotting trouble and taking to the air. "Behind us!" Robots were pouring into the room through the only way out, hoping to trap and finish off the teenage heroes.

Neither of the superhero teams could remember later just who gave the order to attack, but attack they did. And the battle that ensued was incredible. Melted, blasted and broken robots soon littered the ground, which was slick and black with hydraulic fluid and other mechanical oils. Some of which were flammable, as Flamestrike inadvertently discovered, accidentally hitting the liquids with an energy bolt. The explosion knocked Cyborg off his feet and produced a twenty-foot wide fireball that took out at least ten robots before it consumed all of its fuel and died a few seconds later.

"Hey! Fireboy! Don't do that again!" Cyborg shouted up at him, dusting a bit of blasted android off of himself before rejoining the fight.

"Got it!" Flamestrike called down to him after slagging another robot."_Hit the oil-bad idea!_"

Before long, everything that hadn't been alive had been trashed almost beyond recognition, and the heroes had reentered the maze-like halls of the building. Once they were sure no more attacks were imminent, they stopped.

"I'm Robin," Robin said."That's Beast Boy, Raven, Cyborg and Starfire," he added, introducing his team."We're the Teen Titans. Who are you?"

"We're the Guardians of Vaco Bay," Reptile said, shaking Robin's hand and being mindful of his talons."I'm Reptile, she's Mirage and he's Flamestrike," he stated."Thank you for showing up-we're in pretty deep here."

"No problem," Cyborg said."We saw what was happening and knew you guys could use all the help you could get."

"I hate to cut this short, but we need to keep moving," Robin pointed out."Slade is sure to have reinforcements on the way."

"Who's 'Slade'?" Flamestrike asked, causing Robin to stop in his tracks.

"You don't _know_?!" he asked, eyes wide behind his mask."Slade is the one controlling the robots that've taken over this city. _How can you not know who's attacking you_?"

"Because we've been on the run for two days," Mirage explained."The robots showed up after Hydraya and Maddog-that's the snake-lady and the furry guy we just fought-took their tank-car and blew our base to bits. We thought they were working for Mimic, this other bad guy who's been bothering us." It was at that moment that all the pieces fell into place for the Titans and the Guardians.

"This Slade?" Reptile asked."Does he take apprentices?"

"Yep," Cyborg stated simply, nodding his head.

"And does he wear this weird split-faced mask with only one eyehole?" he asked, remembering the man who had fought him and awakened his more primal instincts.

"Yes," Robin answered definitively."He does."

"Fought him," Reptile stated, to Robin's surprise."Beat him, too, but he got away. I didn't know who he was at the time, or I'd of tried harder to catch him."

"_Your_ bad guys are working for _our_ bad guy," Beast Boy pointed out as he connected the dots in his head, only a little bit slower than everyone else."This is bad. This is _real _bad."

_Chapter Seven: Victory?_

"So, what's the plan?" Flamestrike demanded as the Guardians and the Teen Titans headed deeper into Slade's base.

"Stop Slade, save the city," Robin replied simply."Other than that, we'll make it up as we go!"

"And smash anything that stands in our way," Cyborg added, his robotic eye glowing in the dark.

"Not much of a plan," Mirage commented.

"I agree," Raven said."But we don't have much choice-its either fight back, or retreat and let Slade win."

"And we cannot let that happen," Starfire said, playing the part of light source again, along with Flamestrike.

"We get it," Reptile stated. He was at the front of the group, walking beside Robin. Truth be told, he was looking forward to a rematch with Slade, who had awakened his more animalistic instincts during their previous fight."We won't let them win."

"Or escape," Robin told him."Slade has caused trouble long enough-we need to end this here and now."

"He_ learns _from his mistakes," Beast Boy explained."Each time he gets away, he gets harder to beat."

"So if Slade gets away this time, when he's this close to victory, he'll know exactly how to win against us if we fail to catch him now," Raven pointed out.

Talk was ended abruptly as the heroes rounded a bend in the corridor. Stopping, the Titans and Guardians faced down their opponants-androids, so many of them that their numbers had them wedged five abreast in the hallway and stretching into the darkness beyond what the light generated by Flamestrike and Starfire. There must have been at least a hundred of them, crammed together like sardines in a can, their black armor glinting evilly in the light.

"Titans, Go!""Guardians, attack!" Robin and Reptile roared at the same instant, charging at the robots.

And so, once again the Guardians of Vaco Bay and the Teen Titans fought together against the forces of evil. They would have been overwhelmed immediately were it not for the narrow confines of the hallway, which prevented the robots from swarming and surrounding them. Moving into a wedge formation out of necessity rather than an actual plan, the teenage heroes barreled down the corridor, smashing robots left, right, and center into tiny pieces. Of the scores of robots they fought, none were left in one piece, and most had been knocked off line, permanently.

By the time the heroes reached their destination-a large metal door that wouldn't budge despite Cyborg's mechanized might or Flamestrike's white-hot energy bolts-they felt as if they'd fought robots for weeks instead of a few hours. All were tired, but they all knew that they had to keep going.

"Dude, how many soldiers does Slade have?" Beast Boy asked wearily, while Cyborg, Robin and Reptile, all mechanically inclined persons, studied the computerized lock on the door.

"I don't know," Flamestrike told the shape-shifter."But if we haven't gotten most of them by now, I think I'm gonna go crazy."

"Can you open it Cy?" Robin asked, ignoring Flamestrike and Beast Boy for the moment.

"I think so," he stated, as Reptile stared at the mechanism."But I'm not sure. If we mess up, Slade's surely got a booby trap waiting to go off in our faces."

So I guess that means I can't just blast it," Flamestrike groaned, annoyed. His earlier attempts had been on the door itself, not its locking device.

"You guessed right," Reptile said, being sarcastic."Now, make yourself useful and melt these bolts off of here so we can see what makes this thing tick."

"We need to start carrying a tool kit with us," the solar-powered hero grumbled, stepping up to the device.

"It comes in handy," Cyborg said, opening a panel on his leg, revealing a hammer, screwdrivers, a small drill and other odds and ends, a whole mini-kit for emergency uses. "But, just about the only thing I _don't _have _is _a bolt cutter, so..."

"Step back and don't look directly at my hand," Flamestrike told them, taking aim. Two quick blasts from one fingertip opened up the lock, which Cyborg and Reptile pounced on immediately, almost knocking him over in the process.

"Finally, someone who knows what I'm talking about when things get technical!" Cyborg exclaimed several minutes later, when he became aware that Reptile had understood him perfectly, and without lengthy explanations, when he had gone into detail about the computerized lock.

Attention spans wandering as the two heroes talked about programming units, power relays, and anti-hacking devices, Flamestrike, Beast Boy and the others had a rare moment to really notice each other. With all the running, fighting and sneaking around, the Titans and Guardians hadn't had the time to do more than see each others powers in action and know each others names.

"So, how'd you guys get here anyway?" Mirage asked, as Cyborg and Reptile started fiddling with exposed wires and gizmos.

"T-Ship," Robin stated."It's pretty high-tech. It can fly, go into space and even dive underwater. Cyborg built it."

"Cool," Flamestrike admitted, a little envious of the Titans gear."An easier way to get around was one of our future projects, 'til Slade's toadies blew up our base."

"You don't exactly sound too upset," Raven proclaimed slowly, asking a question with her statement.

"We'll rebuild," he told her simply."The way I see it, it's a fresh start, a chance to make something bigger and better. Take a negative and turn it into a positive, that kind of thing."

"Oh," she said. After a few moments of silence, she added,"Cool suit."

"What's it made of?" Robin asked, curious.

"I don't know, exactly. Reptile found it for us, but the name of it is almost unpronounceable," he admitted, running a hand through his hair."It took us quite a while to find something strong enough and durable enough to withstand my firepower, let me tell you that."

"I can imagine," Robin smiled. He had seen Flamestrike blast a robot in half with his powers and, having fought Slade's forces many times, knew just how impressive that was."So who's this 'Mimic' person you guys mentioned?"

"Mimic is a shape-shifter," Mirage told him, though the mention of 'shape-shifting' drew Beast Boys attention as well."We don't know who he is, since he can look like anyone, or anything, and gains all of that things capabilities."

"Mimic is evil," Flamestrike stated, anger in his eyes."Possibly as evil as your 'Slade' is. He's been troubling us ever since we first got our powers."

"You mean, you were not born with them?" Starfire asked, surprised.

"No," Mirage explained."We got our powers from an accident, the same one that created Mimic."

"A truck carrying toxic sludge crashed and we got exposed to it," Flamestrike said, clarifying the issue."Long story short, it played around with our DNA, put us in a hospital for about two weeks, then a year later, boom! We became what we are today."

"Strange," Starfire commented.

"What isn't these days?" Mirage asked rhetorically.

"I think I've got it," Cyborg announced at that moment, drawing the others over to him as he put away his tools. Seconds later, the lock let out an odd 'click', and the door started to open, though Cyborg quickly stopped it, not wanting to alert anyone inside that the room had been breached. There was still enough of a gap to tell the teens that the lights were on inside, increasing the likelihood that somebody was in there.

"What do you mean 'I've got it?'" Reptile whispered teasingly."I figured it out."

"True," he laughed quietly."But _I _opened it."

"Titans, get ready," Robin stated tensely, though he too had yet to raise his voice above a whisper."It's time we ended this."

"On three Guardians," Reptile stated, Robin nodding his head in agreement as the Guardian and Cyborg prepared to slam the door open."One...Two...Three!"

On 'three' Cyborg and Reptile bashed the door the rest of the way open and spilled into the room, their fellow heroes charging in right behind them. But the just as quickly skidded to a stop at the sight of what lay before them.

"So, I see that the Titans and the Guardians have finally decided to join us," Slade stated from his position in the middle of the room.

Beside Slade stood Mimic, his face morphed into a living version of Slade's mask. And behind Mimic stood Maddog, slightly to the left. To Slade's right and a little behind him was Hydraya, coiled and ready to attack. If that had been all, the Titans and the Guardians would've been optimistic about beating the villains, but it wasn't. This chamber seemed to be the main area of the warehouse-a vast room where things would have been packaged and shipped. And it was _filled _with Slade's robots, nearly a thousand of them. For the heroes, a victory against this massive force would be more than remarkable-it would be a _miracle_.

"I have waited _years _for this," Slade stated, his usually calm voice gleefull."Now, attack!" he commanded coldly, a maniacal light shining in his eye."Destroy the Titans, destroy the Guardians, forever!"

Behind the heroes, their way in suddenly slammed shut, and floodlamps turned on, filling the room with light and preventing Mirage the use of her powers. The _entire _building had been a trap, designed for one use, and one use only-lure the heroes into this very room, and end them.

"Titans, Go!" Robin yelled, knowing that the only way out of this would be to fight like they had never fought before. They weren't fighting to win, they were fighting to _live_.

"Guardians, Attack!" Flamestrike shouted, knowing, like Robin, that there was only one way out of this.

The battle that ensued was like a train wreck, seen almost in slow motion. Unstoppable force had met unmovable object, and only one outcome was predictable. Chaos. Destruction. Mayhem on a grand scale. The heroes were quickly separated by the sea of androids, and the battle raged.

"I _hate_ robots," Reptile growled venomously to himself, tearing one open with his claws and throwing it into three others. As he and Cyborg were back to back, protecting each other, the Titan overheard his comment.

"I _hate_ lasers," he added, as one was deflected(barely)by his cybernetic armor. A quick shot with his sonic cannon took out the robot that shot him, and crippled two more.

Rallying to the game, the Titan and the Guardian traded 'I _hate_' comments back and forth, all the while trashing the very things that they disliked. Ahead of them, Flamestrike and Mirage were up to their usual tactics, she distracting the enemy, he hitting them hard once they had turned their backs. The swoop and dive maneuver, they called it. Dozens of androids fell to their coordinated strikes, and, seeing the success of such a tactic, Starfire joined in, her alien starbolts and laser-like eye beams decimating the robots.

Together, Raven and Robin battled against Maddog and Hydraya, Robin beating the ape-like man back with martial arts while Raven used her magics to block and counter Hydraya's attacks. All the while Slade watched, his single eye gazing smugly down at them. He was enjoying the show, and had yet to even draw a weapon. Slowly but surely, the heroes were being beaten, and Slade was winning.

All alone and behind the others, Beast Boy faced off with Mimic, shape-shifter against shape-shifter. Whatever animal the Titan turned into, Mimic would copy it, and fight tooth and claw against the hero. Steadily, the morphs intensified, becoming more and more dangerous until finally, Mimic had taken his dragon/monster shape, and Beast Boy had become the Beast, one of his most savage and powerful forms.

And so the battle raged. Mutants, robots, the daughter of Trigon, a cyborg, an alien and a madman fought each other with all the ferocity of a small war. Thing became even more intense once Slade realized that his robotic forces were beginning to dwindle, and that these teenage heroes were fighting with a fury and desperation that he had not seen before. They weren't fighting to beat him anymore, he realized. They were fighting to _survive_, and that had given them a strength that he had not anticipated.

Outnumbered, outgunned, injured and exhausted, the teenage heroes felt as if they were about to drop when a sudden shift in power became evident. Unexpectedly, all the remaining robots fell, for no apparent reason until Reptile revealed it. Standing atop a mound of dismantled robots, he held the control that commanded them, while Cyborg tossed the body of Slade to the floor. But it wasn't Slade. Aware that things were going wrong, the criminal mastermind had preformed one last trick, replacing himself with a robotic duplicate.

On their own now that the ruse had been discovered and the robots turned off, Mimic Maddog and Hydraya fled. At the touch of Mimic's hand, an escape tunnel route presented itself, and just as quickly sealed shut behind them, blocking any possible pursuit. The heroes had won, against all odds-but they had lost too. The villains were still on the loose, Slade had his apprentice, and sooner or later, they _would _strike again.

"Let's get out of here," Robin said angrily, his cape in tatters, though he hadn't been seriously hurt in the fight. He was too tired, bruised and battered to worry about Slade's escape right now.

"Best idea I've heard all day," Flamestrike stated. His solar-powered body was almost out of juice, and he felt that if he tried to fire off a shot or fly, he would collapse.

"Dude," Beast Boy agreed weakly, having turned back into his normal green self. "At least we won."

"Some victory," Cyborg grumbled, his robotic power cells almost fully depleted. His armor was also damaged and banged up, and one of his arms wasn't working right, refusing to transform into his sonic cannon or into a hand, stuck halfway in between."The bad guys got away. _Again._"

"Not quite," a voice said from behind them.

Weapons ready, the Titans and Guardians turned towards the exit, and were faced with a girl about fourteen years old, wearing in a simple gray outfit with a stylized lightning bolt across the front. In front of her, unconscious, were Maddog and Mimic.

"Jolene?!" Mirage asked in a shocked whisper, though in the silence of the room, everyone heard her.

"Told you I'd be back," she said."With presents too," she added, glancing down at the unconscious villains."I see you've made some friends."

"You two know each other?" Beast Boy asked as the Titans stood down, though the family resemblance between Mirage and Jolene was clearly evident.

"Yeah," she said simply, making her way over to her sister and embracing her, stunned that she was really back."This is my sister-"

"Name's Jolene," she interrupted, smiling."But you guys can call me Tempest," she added, letting go of Mirage."I came as quick as I could. Caught these to trying to leave. They yours?"

"Yeah, actually," Reptile stated, amazed at the change in Jolene. She was acting like her old self again."You see anyone else?"

"No," she said."Just them. Is anyone seriously hurt?"

"We're fine," Robin said, causing Jolene to take better notice of the other heroes in the room aside from her friends and sister.

"Oh, wow," Jolene exclaimed, visibly excited."You guys are the Teen Titans! I've heard all about you." Studying them for a moment, she held out her hand and said,"You must be Robin."

"Nice to meet you," he said, shaking her hand, her upbeat attitude putting him in a slightly better mood.

"I never, _ever _thought I'd get to meet you guys," she claimed."I've sort of looked up to you since I got control of my powers. This is so cool!"

"Glad to meet a fan," Cyborg said, as she shook his hand too."How'd you know about us though?" he asked.

"You have a nice city," she told him."I stayed there a few weeks ago, but I guess I was too chicken to try to introduce myself."

"You, chicken?" Mirage laughed, exhausted but overjoyed that her sister was back."I think not."

"I was," Jolene giggled. Growing slightly more serious now that introductions had been finished, she said,"I'm glad you're all ok. Looks like you guys had one heck of a fight in here."

"We've faced worse," Robin stated, remembering the times his team had saved not just their city, but the world."But yeah, it was rough."

"So, what should we do with these guys?" Reptile asked, indicating Mimic and Maddog.

"With all the spare bits and junk lying around, I should be able to construct a temporary containment unit so they don't escape," Cyborg stated, though the look in his human eye clearly told how tired he was."Just let me find a power supply first-I doubt I could build anything with how drained I am."

"I can keep them asleep for now," Raven offered quietly, though it was clear that she was exhausted as well.

"You're out of power?" Jolene asked the Titan.

"Almost," he replied, giving her an odd look."Why?"

"Will electricity work?" she asked, ignoring his question.

"Yeah," he said, growing more confused, along with the other heroes."Again, why?"

"Because," Jolene said, clenching one fist, electrical sparks crackling in her hand. "I got plenty of power-I can give you a boost. That way, you can build that thingy to hold the bad guys then all of you can get some rest."

"You sure you can do that?" Cyborg asked hesitantly, opening a panel on his chest and pulling out a cord."I don't want you to accidentally hurt yourself or fry my systems."

"I'm sure," she assured him."I can control how strong my electricity is-I can make little static shocks or go all the way to lightning bolts." Taking the cord, she gripped it in her hand and focused, feeding power into Cyborg, who already looked better and stood up straighter.

"Makes me wish I was electrically powered," Flamestrike muttered jokingly."But no, I have to wait 'til sun-up to recharge."

"You draw power from sunlight?" Robin asked, while Jolene recharged his friend.

"Sunlight, heat, and fire," Flamestrike said."I can draw power from any of those, though sunlight is easiest and I do that without even having to think about it."

And so the Titans and Guardians talked, learning about their new friends and soon, Cyborg was up and building the containment unit for the villains. Despite things being bad, and Slade getting away, it was really starting to feel like a victory. The city was saved, the heroes were alive, and they had found new allies in each other.

End of Part Two

The Story will Conclude in Part Three: Heroes


End file.
